Chapter 258 A steady flow of dollars
"Ellie, remember Ron?"
"Who? That perverted doctor?"
“Uh,” Hela glanced to the side and said with a smile, “Yes, that’s right, that guy.”
"What's wrong with him? Is he regretting not making the second option?" Ellie's giggling voice came from the phone.
“Maybe,” Hela shrugged. “But all kidding aside, he needs dollars.”
"Dollar?"
"Yes, a lot of dollars, he's right next to me."
"Give him the phone."
Hela handed the receiver to Ron and motioned him to answer the phone.
"Hello, beautiful Miss Ellie."
"Wow, you weren't such a gentleman last time."
"It was an emergency, you know."
"Never mind, since you've been so kind before. Tell me, how much do you want?"
"The more the better. I have a transaction that needs to be settled in US dollars."
"The more the better? Is $100 million enough?"
"How much? One hundred million?!" Ron almost thought he had misheard.
"Why, not enough? Any more would be a bit troublesome."
"No, I mean...it's enough for now." Ron finally recovered.
Damn, who is this girl? She just asked for $100 million.
The total converted amount is 3.1 billion rupees, which is far less than all of Ron's wealth combined.
"That's easy, it's a small matter."
"Okay, what do you need me to do?" Ron cheered up.
“You have to register an offshore account in a Swiss bank, an account completely independent of the Indian government.”
"Then what?"
"Then just deposit rupees into it. The amount of rupees you want to exchange for dollars is the same as the amount you deposit."
"You mean, you can exchange these rupees for dollars?" Ron's eyes lit up.
"It's not an exchange, it's a sale." Ellie chuckled.
"Sell?"
"There are always people who need rupees internationally, and Swiss banks will help you find buyers, but the price is usually five to ten points lower than the official exchange rate."
"No problem, of course no problem!" Ron was a little excited.
He probably understood what Ellie meant. Those commodity traders had trade relations with India.
For example, transactions in raw materials such as timber, sugar, fruit, minerals, beef, and rice often involve huge amounts of money.
Traders purchase goods in India in rupees, a government-mandated requirement. Going through official channels would result in a somewhat disadvantageous exchange rate.
At this time, they will go to the currency market to find sellers. As long as the price is five or six points cheaper, they can save a considerable amount of expenses.
Because they were doing large transactions, the proportion might not seem high, but the base was huge. Five points on 100 million rupees meant a difference of several million.
Businessmen are profit driven and they will not miss out on even a rupee of profit.
Where there is demand, there is a market, and Swiss banks are equivalent to brokers in currency transactions.
Ron's rupees were deposited into his account, and the Swiss bank helped him get currency market transactions, which were finally converted into US dollars.
“For Hela’s sake, the handling fee will be waived,” Ellie said lightly.
"Thank you. If the money arrives, how long will it take?"
"It won't last more than a week. The rupee is still quite useful. Recently, more and more customers are in need."
Ron knew that this was because the Indian government had relaxed its policies, and a lot of foreign capital was gradually being attracted.
If it were before the country closed its doors to the outside world, this thing would be no different from waste paper.
However, only bulk traders need rupees now, as they can sell the raw materials they purchase into dollars.
Other speculators are not interested, otherwise the trading volume of rupees in the currency market would definitely not be just hundreds of millions of dollars.
"Thank you, Ellie. I think this kind of currency transaction will..."
"Anytime you want."
"Wow, that's great! Next time you come to Mumbai, it's my treat."
"I'll remember what you said. Now give the phone to Hela."
Ron shrugged and handed the receiver back.
It was a pleasant surprise that Ellie had connections in a Swiss bank.
According to her introduction, this offshore currency transaction is not a one-time transaction.
That means Ron can exchange his rupees directly into dollars in the future, as much as he wants.
This was wonderful, as he had plenty of rupees.
The profit of Sur Electric alone in the past six months was 300 million, and when the profits of travel agencies, tourism companies and Sun Entertainment are added, the total is close to 400 million rupees.
Even if it is five points lower than the official exchange rate, it is still 12 million US dollars.
It’s enough. This amount of money will last him for a while.
The only problem is how to legally transfer this money to an offshore account.
The rupee is a regulated currency, and large capital outflows are bound to attract the attention of the Indian government.
But it doesn't matter, this is not a problem for Ron.
He also registered several travel agencies in the Gulf countries, and there were records of financial transactions.
At that time, the money can be slowly transferred to an account in Dubai, and then transferred to an offshore account.
If that doesn't work, you can also ask migrant workers to carry rupees out of the country.
Just like Khad Khan’s human gold, as long as the number of people and the number of times are enough, nothing will be a problem.
India's monetary system has too many loopholes, and loopholes can easily slip out.
Ron didn't waste a moment saying goodbye to Hela. He called Vinod in Dubai and then made an appointment with a senior bank official.
It is difficult to transfer large sums of money abroad without the protection of a bank.
But this is India, a country where demons run rampant.
The law is like a woman whose sari has been stripped off. She has been ravaged countless times by her people.
Banks, institutions that are supposed to closely monitor a country's economic system, have also become riddled with holes.
It's actually very simple to bribe a bank executive. Just take him to a place like the palace and have some fun.
Oh, by the way, the palace has been burned down by a fire.
But it doesn’t matter, Luca built another one.
In just half a year, a new three-story building rose from the ground.
It is larger and more luxurious than the imperial palace, and attracts more people.
It is called sapphire, and the name alone sounds dazzling.
Ron had never been there, so now was a good opportunity to bring some bank executives to show his support.
They made an appointment for the evening, and for a city of desire like Mumbai, it truly comes alive at night.
During the day it gathers its strength and waits for night to fall.
After sunset, this glittering city gradually reveals its charming charm, with competitions, premieres, parties, and dinners complementing each other, and beer bars, hotels, discos, and flower streets crowded with people.
The night in Mumbai has no concept of time. It breaks free from the constraints of the day's well-dressed and rigorous etiquette.
The night in Mumbai is full of suggestion and temptation: the well-dressed and elegant men are showing their romantic charm, and the graceful women smoking by the railing are charming and seductive.
Almost everyone who lives in a city like this and has some status has a mistress.
High-end bars are undoubtedly a great place to hunt for love, where men and women can get what they want without having to fulfill any marriage-like obligations.
Luca has long had insight into this market. In his words: In Mumbai, people have diverse tastes and all kinds of quirks.
Because of desire, lustful karma is almost everywhere.
The lowest class is the Nepali call girls, the "ladies" that only Biharis from North India would hire, and they charge about thirty to fifty rupees for half an hour of prostitution.
They are promiscuous and the middle class won't even look at them.
The ideal target for a sex tapestry is a bar dancer, and Mumbai is dotted with hundreds of bars, also known as beer bars, nightclubs or dance halls.
In suburban areas like Kimble or Malad, every block had its own bar, where men came to patronize the dancing girls and throw money at them, believing it was love.
The small world known as "bar scene" by dancers and their financial backers is unique in Mumbai.
Luca aimed at this point and created a den of gold like Sapphire.
Haines Road is more prosperous than before, with parked luxury cars and well-dressed men everywhere.
Unlike the low-key palace, sapphire is noisy and restless, and it encourages you to release yourself without reservation.
Ron brought Rajan, the president of Industrial Bank of India, into the door of Sapphire.
Everywhere you look, there's sparkle.
The door is made of gold to suit Indian aesthetics, and the top of the door handle is inlaid with diamonds.
The huge chandelier in the foyer flickers at a regular frequency, and the spotlights on the ceiling eaves create an ambiguous atmosphere.
Push open that door, and you'll find another world behind it. The lights are dazzling, the music is deafening, and in the hall alone there are a dozen or so dancers, wearing full saris and slightly provocative tight, backless silk gowns, swaying their hips among the crowd.
One or two of the girls still looked childish. They must have had their breasts padded out to give them a mature figure that was so disproportionate to their faces.
Bank president Rajan stared at them in amazement, forgetting even to move.
Ron knew that this person's taste was a bit weird.
"Come, Mr. Rajan, let's go upstairs. Here are all the ordinary stuff."
"Oh, really?" Rajan came back to his senses.
He was somewhat surprised to see several familiar faces in the lobby on the first floor alone. They were all famous jewel merchants and bankers in Mumbai, and some of them were his colleagues.
They all looked crazy. They walked into the dance floor and came to their favorite dancer. They held a stack of banknotes high above her head, and then threw their hands, letting the banknotes fly all over the sky and fall between the two of them.
Bills swirled above the dancer's head, enveloping her like a halo or confetti after a cannon salute.
The bigger the amount, the brighter her face became. Until the ground was covered with a thick layer of rupees, the waiters hurried forward to pick up the rupees and later gave them to the dancers as a tip, which was the highest praise for her in the bustling Mumbai.
Rajan just felt strange. These people seemed like elegant gentlemen during the day, but now they were completely different from the other two extremes.
But the more this happened, the drier Rajan felt his mouth became, and he got goosebumps.
This is the case on the first floor, what about upstairs?
Following Ron's footsteps, Rajan followed closely.
“Hey, man, you should have someone call me.” Luca appeared at the top of the stairs, his arms wide open.
"Don't come on, we have an important guest today. Mr. Rajan, the president of Industrial Bank."
"Wow, welcome!" Luca greeted warmly.
He has become very stylish now, wearing expensive suits instead of the casual shirt he used to wear.
He also followed the Indian style, wearing gold rings on his fingers and smoking cigars.
Anyone with discerning eyes would conclude without hesitation that this was a big shot.
"I've reserved the best seat for you and I guarantee you'll be satisfied." Luca led the way personally.
He was as enthusiastic as the waiter downstairs.
Rajan was secretly shocked. Although Sapphire had only been open for a short time, it was already very famous in Mumbai.
Especially since it was built on the ruins of the imperial palace, everyone believed that the boss behind it was extremely powerful.
At least not inferior to Lady Elizabeth, otherwise there would be no sapphires today.
However, when he thought of the rumored culprit behind the destruction of the palace, Rajan felt somewhat relieved.
As for Mr. Soul, it’s not surprising that he is served in this way by the boss of Sapphire.
(End of this chapter)
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