Embraer deal: CBI registers preliminary enquiry
NEW DELHI: September 18, 2016, DHNS
The CBI has registered a preliminary enquiry into charges that a bribe was paid to an agent for the supply of three air-borne surveillance aircraft worth $208 million from Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer.
The enquiry was registered against unknown officials in the defence ministry and others based on a request from the Centre. The decision to register an enquiry, which is a prelude to registering an FIR, was taken after scrutinising documents, including minutes of the meeting in which it was decided to purchase aircraft for Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from Embraer in 2008.
The probe agency will seek documents from stakeholders in and outside the country, including from Brazil, to probe the deal signed during the UPA regime. A defence agent based in the UK is believed to have midwifed the sale of the surveillance platform.
A newspaper in Brazil had exposed the defence deal scam, which it had reported on the basis of an investigation carried out by the justice department of the United States. The probe is also meant to establish whether Embraer paid bribes to obtain contracts abroad with Saudi Arabia and India.
After the reports surfaced, the DRDO also sought a report from Embraer, which is facing a probe in Brazil. According to the defence ministry, crucial decisions on the purchase of the Embraer aircraft were taken by the Indian Airforce in 2006. S P Tyagi, who was the then IAF chief, will be interrogated in this case. Tyagi is also being probed in the AugustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.
The enquiry was registered against unknown officials in the defence ministry and others based on a request from the Centre. The decision to register an enquiry, which is a prelude to registering an FIR, was taken after scrutinising documents, including minutes of the meeting in which it was decided to purchase aircraft for Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from Embraer in 2008.
The probe agency will seek documents from stakeholders in and outside the country, including from Brazil, to probe the deal signed during the UPA regime. A defence agent based in the UK is believed to have midwifed the sale of the surveillance platform.
A newspaper in Brazil had exposed the defence deal scam, which it had reported on the basis of an investigation carried out by the justice department of the United States. The probe is also meant to establish whether Embraer paid bribes to obtain contracts abroad with Saudi Arabia and India.
After the reports surfaced, the DRDO also sought a report from Embraer, which is facing a probe in Brazil. According to the defence ministry, crucial decisions on the purchase of the Embraer aircraft were taken by the Indian Airforce in 2006. S P Tyagi, who was the then IAF chief, will be interrogated in this case. Tyagi is also being probed in the AugustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.
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