Electoral bonds were intended to increase transparency in the funding of political parties. But as the data released last week shows, it fell well short of that target. Instead, it ended up potentially compromising corporate governance standards by enabling the flow of funds between companies through various kinds of financial arrangements—without limits and without adequate disclosures.

       One such opaque arrangement involved the use of small, nondescript group companies as pass-throughs, as the case of Kolkata-based Madanlal Ltd shows.

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