Mediapart, a French news portal, has made a new disclosure about corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal (Rafale Deal) between India and France. French aircraft maker Dassault had paid a middleman a commission of 7.5 million euros (Rs 65 crore) to finalize the deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets to India, according to the claims of a French news portal. The opposition parties kept accusing them of corruption in the Rafale deal but the deal was done and Rafale reached India.
According to a French portal report, the Attorney General’s office in Mauritius had sent the documents to the CBI Director on October 11, 2018, in response to a request letter seeking information in the helicopter deal case. A week ago, on October 4, 2018, the CBI had received complaints from advocate Prashant Bhushan and former Union minister Arun Shourie alleging corruption in the Rafale deal. Despite this, Indian agencies did not pay heed to the matter.
Now French portal Mediapart has claimed that middleman Sushen Gupta was given a bribe of 7.5 million euros (Rs 65 crore) to complete the Rafale deal. The bribe was given by the French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation. French magazine Mediapart has alleged that Dassault paid at least 7.5 million euros to middleman Sushen Gupta between 2007 and 2012 through “overbilled” IT contracts with a shell company to secure the sale of Rafale jets to India.
Also read: Rafale Scam: Dassault paid 1 million euros to Indian middleman as ‘gift’, says report
Investigative agencies have accused Gupta of playing a key role in commissioning the 2010 AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal through Mauritius-based shell company Interstellar Technologies Ltd and several other entities. Sushen Gupta was earlier arrested for alleged bribery in the AgustaWestland deal. Most of the money was carefully remitted to Mauritius, using a system of alleged false invoices, the report said. The name of the French company was also wrong in some of these invoices.
Mediapart claimed that other documents obtained by Indian spies showed that Sushen Gupta had received confidential documents from India’s Defense Ministry during the final negotiations of the Rafale deal in 2015. In which details of the stance of the Indian negotiators were given as to how they calculated the cost of the aircraft. When contacted by MediaPart, Sushen Gupta did not respond, while Dassault declined to comment on the documents.
Quoting the report of French magazine Mediapart, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Malviya said that the UPA was taking bribes, but could not close the deal. The NDA later canceled this and entered into a direct contract with the French government.
Let us inform that this online journal of France is probing allegations of corruption in the Rs 59 thousand crore Rafale deal. Mediapart’s investigation into the Rafale papers caused a stir in French politics in July. After the report surfaced, a judicial inquiry was initiated into the allegations of corruption and favoritism in the case.