French plane-maker Dassault paid at least 7.5 million euros (nearly Rs 650 million) in bribes "to a middleman to help secure the sale of 36 Rafale fighter jets to India and Indian agencies failed to investigate it despite the presence of documents, French portal Mediapart has alleged in a new report, according to NDTV.
The journal has been probing graft allegations in the Rs 59,000 crore deal. According to NDTV, “Mediapart has published alleged false invoices that it says enabled Dassault to pay secret commissions to alleged middleman Sushen Gupta. "Despite the existence of these documents, the Indian federal police has decided not to pursue the affair and has not begun an investigation," the portal says. According to its report, the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate have had proof since October 2018 that Dassault paid kickbacks to Sushen Gupta to secure the sale of Rafale jets.
The proof is sealed in confidential documents emerging in another corruption case being investigated by the two agencies - scam on the supply of VVIP choppers by AgustaWestland. The report adds the majoerioty of the alleged payments was made before 2013. NDTV cannot independently verify the authenticity of these documents and is trying to get CBI comments. Mediapart's investigation led to a judicial investigation in France in July.
Sushen Gupta has allegedly received bribes from AgustaWestland through a shell company in Mauritius, Intersteller Technologies. The Mauritian authorities agreed to send documents related to the company to the CBI and Enforcement Directorate, to facilitate investigations. The documents were sent to the CBI on October 11, 2018, just a week after the agency received an official complaint alleging corruption in the Rafale deal. "However, the CBI decided not to open an investigation, even though just seven days after that corruption complaint was filed it received information proving that secret commissions had indeed been paid," Mediapart said.