Defsys Solutions Pvt Ltd, which has been named as the recipient of 1 million euros (Rs 8.62 crore) from Dassault Aviation of France in connection with the Rafale deal, is a company based in Hoskote, Karnataka, and was set up in January 2007.

The company, owned by defence middleman Sushen Mohan Gupta, has a paid-up capital of Rs 6.95 crore and is “involved in research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering”.

“This class includes systematic creative work in the fields of research and development in natural sciences, medical sciences, agriculture and engineering and technology,” says Zauba Corp, a provider of commercial information and insights on businesses in India.

The Defsys Solutions website does not contain any details about the promoters or the top management. The company says it holds a proven track record of “On Time” delivery of several advanced systems designed and developed in-house perfectly in line with the nation’s objective of “Atmanirbhar Bharat”.

Sushen Gupta came into the limelight in 2019 when he was accused by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of a key role in the AgustaWestland chopper scam. He was then an alleged defence agent. Sushen Gupta could not be contacted by this newspaper on Monday for comment.

The ED had then reportedly claimed that Sushen Gupta held classified documents and sensitive information pertaining to the defence ministry, the Indian Air Force and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). Its charge was that he allegedly paid almost Rs 56 crore as kickbacks to influential people to swing the deal in favour of AgustaWestland.

The ED’s chargesheet had alleged that kickbacks from AgustaWestland and other deals were placed in the bank accounts of Interstellar Technologies, a company controlled by Sushen Gupta, and the accounts of Rajiv Saxena, an accused-turned-approver.

In the AgustaWestland kickback case, the ED had said that Sushen Gupta was the key link to Ratul Puri, nephew of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath and former MD of optical storage device maker Moser Baer India.

In the case filed before Delhi High Court against Ratul Puri, the ED had claimed that Puri’s role in the AgustaWestland kickbacks was established “post the deportation of Rajiv Saxena and the arrest of Sushen Gupta”.

Defsys Solutions has offices in Gurgaon, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

According to its website, it provides advanced solutions for a variety of defence and aerospace applications. The company also claims to have experience in design, manufacture and integration of advanced electronic systems.

It is involved in the design and manufacture of integrated electronic systems, electro-optical payloads, thermal imagers, flight and firing simulators, weapon replicas, electro-mechanical systems, on-board electronic sub-systems, and automated test equipment (ATE) among other things.

In a media statement issued earlier this month, Defsys Solutions had said that under the expertise of Sushant Gupta (his relationship with Sushen Gupta could not be ascertained), it had achieved another milestone in the design, development and production of the 450mm Gimbal Payload Assembly (GPA) for the DRDO lab of the Government of India.

The statement added that the GPA was intended to be used with multiple sensors for the Airborne EOIR system to be deployed on the upcoming Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft (MMMA) of the Indian Coast Guard.

The Guptas have also acted as agents of Pratt and Whitney, the maker of engines for airplanes.

“India Avitronics, a company founded by his grandfather Brij Mohan Gupta, has an association with Pratt & Whitney as their India agents going back to many decades,” a Cobra Post report has said.

A report by India Today in 1986 detailing the role of middlemen in defence contracts said Brij Mohan Gupta and his sons -- Deb Mohan, Surinder Mohan and Harsh Mohan Gupta – belonged to a family of old Delhi cloth merchants who entered the business of aviation just after the Second World War.

Sushen Gupta owns a number of other companies and several of them have their registered offices in Delhi’s upmarket locality in Hailey Road.

These include software publishing and supply company Actia India Pvt Ltd, and real estate entities like Kairali Estate and Exports Pvt Ltd and American Hotels and Restaurants Pvt Ltd.

Gupta is also listed as a director on several other companies: Horizon Air Support Maintenance (India) Pvt Ltd, DM South India Hospitality Pvt Ltd, DM Luxury Resorts Pvt Ltd, Foresight Solutions Pvt Ltd, Darun Hospitality LLP, Deftronics (India) Pvt Ltd, DM Power Pvt Ltd, and Chowgule Resorts Pvt Ltd.