India: Jets loaded with banned cash draw ire in graft crackdown

India has threatened to punish private jet operators that fly to small and remote airports without police clearance as PM Narendra Modi tries to plug loopholes in his campaign against unaccounted money. A group of private jet operators, which counts tycoon Anand Mahindra and the billionaire Poonawalla family's aviation firm as members, said the move came after an "isolated case" of not following procedure, and aircraft owned by its members follow standard rules for security checks. Modi stunned the nation on Nov. 8 by invalidating 500 rupee ($7.3) and 1,000 rupee notes in an effort to force unaccounted cash into the formal economy, setting a Dec. 30 deadline for the money to be deposited with banks. Two weeks later, India Today reported that a private jet was used to transport banned currency to the country's northeast, where residents enjoy certain tax benefits. At least four private jets stuffed with cash reportedly flew to a small town in the northeastern state of Nagaland. "It has been reported that some of the non-scheduled operator permit holders have been engaged to carry demonetised currency from one part of the country to another, particularly from the uncontrolled airfields where there are no arrangements for screening of passenger baggage," the aviation regulator said in a notification on Tuesday. Any private jets operating to or from such airports would need police approval and have to ensure screening of passengers and their baggage "failing which strict action as deemed appropriate shall be initiated," it said.<br/>