Rafale maker paid €7.5 million to middleman between 2007-12: Report
French manufacturer Dassault Aviation paid at least 7.5 million euro (Rs. 60 crore) in bribes to a middleman to help secure the sale of 36 Rafale fighter jets to India, French portal Mediapart reported. The alleged payments were made to "intermediary" Sushen Gupta's Mauritius company Interstellar Technologies between 2007 and 2012. Reportedly, Indian authorities have had proof of the alleged bribe since October 2018.
Why does it matter?
Mediapart has been investigating the India-French Rafale fighter jets deal. Its investigation and consequent revelations had triggered a judicial investigation in France in July into allegations of corruption, influence peddling, and favoritism. The latest report suggests that Indian agencies had failed to probe the Rafale deal despite having evidence of malpractices. Incidentally, India's Supreme Court had dismissed calls for a court-monitored probe in 2018.
'False invoices used to pay secret commission'
Mediapart published "bogus" invoices raised by firms linked to Gupta, which it claimed were used by Dassault to pay secret commissions to alleged middleman Gupta. Reportedly, "overbilled" IT contracts and a system of "false invoices" was used to send money to Mauritius discreetly. "Some of these invoices even got the name of the French company wrong, referring instead to 'Dassult Aviation,'" the report said.
Indian agencies had proof: Report
The report claimed the office of the Attorney General of Mauritius had sent the "bogus" receipts to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on October 11, 2018. "This was how Indian detectives discovered that Sushen Gupta had acted as an intermediary for Dassault Aviation over the Rafale deal," the report said. Despite having these documents, Indian agencies did not launch a probe, it added.
Gupta also accused in AgustaWestland scam
Notably, Sushen Gupta has also been accused of receiving bribes from helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland through Interstellar Technologies. Mauritian authorities had agreed to send documents related to Interstellar to the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate to facilitate investigations. After the Mauritius government sent the documents, Gupta's involvement in the Rafale deal was discovered, Mediapart reported.
April Mediapart report exposed Gupta's role in negotiations
In April, Mediapart had reported that Gupta supplied classified documents to Dassault Aviation on the activities of the Indian negotiating team during the final negotiations for the Rafale contract. Gupta had reportedly accessed the confidential documents from the Defence Ministry detailing the stance of the Indian negotiators, especially how they calculated the price of the aircraft.
Supreme Court rejected calls for probe earlier
Earlier, Dassault Aviation and the Defence Ministry had rejected allegations of any corruption in the Rafale contract. In December 2018, the Supreme Court had dismissed a batch of petitions demanding a court-monitored investigation into the deal. In 2019, the SC had rejected review petitions in the matter. The CBI, Defence Ministry, and Dassault Aviation are yet to comment on the latest report.
