France’s investigative publication has made a stunning expose on the Rafale scam saying that a whopping Rs. 65 crore was paid to middleman Sushen Gupta to secure the lucrative contract to sell the fighter jets to India. The French publication claimed that both the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate were aware of the payment of bribe to the tune of Rs 65 crore to Gupta since 2018, but both government agencies refuse to act on the evidence.
The bribe, according to Mediapart.fr, ‘involves offshore companies, dubious contracts and “false” invoices.’
“Mediapart can reveal that detectives from India’s federal police force, the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI), and colleagues from the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which fights money laundering, have had proof since October 2018 that French aviation firm Dassault paid at least 7.5 million euros (equivalent to just under 650 million rupees) in secret commissions to middleman Sushen Gupta. This was in the context of the French firm’s long and ultimately successful attempt to secure a 7.8 billion-euro-deal in 2016 to sell 36 of its Rafale fighters to India,” the French publication claimed.
According to Mediapart.fr, alleged false invoices enabled French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation to pay at least 7.5 million euros in secret commissions to Gupta to help secure the sale of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft to India. “Yet despite the existence of these documents, the Indian federal police has decided not to pursue the affair and has not begun an investigation. Yann Philippin reports,” the report added.
Gupta, who’s considered close to pro-BJP and self-proclaimed godman Jaggi Vasudev, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last year for his alleged role in the VVIP choppers scam under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Janta Ka Reporter in its three part series last had first exposed the scam in the purchase of Rafale jets from the French company Dassault aviation. (You can read Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3here ).
French publication drops new bombshell in Rafale Scam, says CBI, ED knew about Rs. 65 crore bribe to middleman Sushen Gupta but took no action