French investigative journal claim CBI ‘sat on Rafale evidence’ : Fresh glare on flying machine deals

Mediapart alleges bogus invoices were used to enable aircraft maker Dassault to pay at least 7.5 million euros in secret commissions to a middleman

Representational Image:File picture

PTI,  TT Bureau   |   New Delhi   |  09.11.21: The French investigative journal, Mediapart, has made the fresh claim that allegedly bogus invoices were used to enable aircraft maker Dassault Aviation to pay at least 7.5 million euros in secret commissions to a middleman to help it secure the Rafale deal with India.

According to Mediapart’s investigation, Dassault Aviation paid the kickbacks to the intermediary in Mauritius between 2007 and 2012.

It reported that the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate have had proof of the secret commissions since October 2018 but decided not to pursue the matter.

The BJP’s national information and technology department in-charge, Amit Malviya, targeted the Congress, alleging that the kickbacks were paid during the UPA rule. “Dassault paid Euro 14.6 Mn to intermediary Sushen Gupta over the period 2004-2013 to sell Rafale. So UPA was collecting kickbacks but couldn’t close the deal? NDA later scrapped it and got into a contract with the French Govt, which upset Rahul Gandhi no end,” tweeted Malviya.

The tweet did not say why the CBI and the ED did not announce a probe in spite of having purported proof that the secret commissions were paid.

Mediapart had reported in July that a French judge had been appointed to lead a “highly sensitive” judicial investigation into suspected corruption and favouritism in the Rs 59,000-crore inter-governmental deal with India for the supply of 36 Rafale fighter jets.

There was no reaction from the Indian defence ministry or Dassault till Monday evening on the latest report.

“Mediapart is today publishing the alleged false invoices that enabled French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation to pay at least 7.5 million euros in secret commissions to a middleman to help secure the sale of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft to India,” the journal said in its new report on Sunday.

“It involves offshore companies, dubious contracts and ‘false’ invoices,” Mediapart  said and then referred to the CBI and the ED.

Mediapart can reveal that detectives from India’s federal police force, the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI), and colleagues from the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which fights money laundering, have had proof since October 2018 that French aviation firm Dassault paid at least 7.5 million euros in secret commissions to middleman Sushen Gupta,” Mediapart claimed in the report.

“This was in the context of the French firm’s long and ultimately successful attempt to secure a 7.8 billion-euro-deal in 2016 to sell 36 of its Rafale fighters to India,” Mediapart claimed.

Rafale manufacturer Dassault Aviation and the Indian defence ministry have previously trashed allegations of any corruption in the contract. The Supreme Court in 2019 dismissed petitions seeking a probe into the deal.

In a statement published in April, reacting to Mediapart’s report on the investigation, Dassault Aviation said the group “acts in strict compliance with the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and national laws”.

The Narendra Modi government had inked the Rs 59,000-crore deal on September 23, 2016, to procure 36 Rafale jets from Dassault Aviation after a nearly seven-year exercise to buy 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force failed to fructify during the UPA’s tenure.

The Congress has accused the Modi government of massive irregularities in the deal, alleging it is procuring each aircraft for more than Rs 1,670 crore, against the price of Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government during negotiations for the MMRCA.

Before the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the Congress had raised several questions about the deal and alleged corruption but the government rejected all the charges.

(https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/french-investigative-journal-claim-cbi-sat-on-rafale-evidence/cid/1838009)