The Rafale fighter jets deal involved a payment worth one million euros (Rs 8.62 crore) to an Indian middleman, which plane maker Dassault...
The Rafale fighter jets deal involved a payment worth one million euros (Rs 8.62 crore) to an Indian middleman, which plane maker Dassault has not been able to explain to the French anti-corruption authorities, the country’s online journal Mediapart reported on Sunday. The Rafale jets are India’s first major acquisition of fighter planes in over two decades.
In the first report of a three-part investigation, Mediapart said that in mid-October 2018, French anti-corruption agency, Agence Française Anticorruption, first spotted the payment and asked Rafale manufacturer Dassault for an explanation.
Soon after the Rafale deal was finalised on September 23, 2016, Dassault had agreed to pay the amount to one of its sub-contractors in India, Defsys Solutions. Dassault said that money was used to pay for the manufacture of 50 large replica models of Rafale jets, Mediapart reported. The French company was, however, not able to provide any proof to the AFA to show that the models were actually made.
In spite of the apparent irregularity, the AFA, which is answerable to both the budget ministry and the ministry of justice in France, did not refer the matter to the prosecutors, according to Mediapart.
On the other hand, Defsys Solutions, the company to which the amount was purportedly paid, is owned by Sushen Gupta,...
