Raphael warplanes contract abuse ... France govt investigation...

Times of AthibAn Sunday, July 04, 2021 0

The France government has appointed a judge to probe alleged irregularities in a deal worth Rs 59,000 crore to sell Raphael fighter jets to India.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government signed an agreement on September 23, 2016 to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets worth Rs 59,000 crore from France's Dassault Aviation.

The Congress party has accused the agreement of massive irregularities. During his tenure, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government decided to buy fighter jets for Rs 526 crore each and the National Democratic Alliance government for Rs 1,670 crore each.

Congress blamed.

Further, before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress raised various questions regarding the deal, claiming that there was malpractice in it. The federal government has denied the allegations.

Dassault Aviation also denied the allegations.

In this case, Dassault Aviation paid an Indian broker about Rs. Last April, the France intelligence website Mediapart reported that it had paid a bribe of Rs 8.8 crore.

A judge has been appointed to inquire into alleged irregularities in the Indo-France agreement on the purchase of the Raphael aircraft. His trial began formally on June 14. The investigation has been initiated by the Office of the National Financial Investigation Officer (PNF).

The inquiry was ordered based on reports on the Mediapart website and a complaint lodged by Sherpa, a France-based economic crime watchdog.

Earlier, Eleanor Hollet, then head of the PNF organization, had concealed a complaint lodged in 2019 regarding the alleged irregularities in the agreement.

However, the Mediapart website says that an investigation into the matter is currently underway

Reported.