Defence contract: Dassault executive accused of bribery
Indian Air Force says French aviation giant’s bid for $11b contract not affected.
NEW DEHLI:
The Indian Air Force has put on hold its dealings with the country manager of French defence firm Dassault Aviation for his role in the bribery scandal during the Aero India show in Bangalore.
P V Rao, country manager of Dassault Aviation – one of the leading contenders for an $11 billion Indian government contract for 126 fighter aircraft – had allegedly acceded to the demand for a Rs20,000 ($400) bribes from Indian Air Force Wing Commander A K Thakur for providing Dassault a favourable place at the Bangalore air show last month. The officer was caught by defence ministry officials.
Rao had been barred from entering and having dealings with the Indian Air Headquarters until his role in the scandal is clarified, sources said.
However, sources said, the move to bar Rao was not going to have any impact on the prospects of the French firm or the whole tender to procure 126 medium-multirole combat aircraft (MMRCA).
The multi-billion dollar deal is in the final stages of review as the Indian defence ministry is expected to initiate commercial negotiations with one of the six vendors in the race for the deal. The IAF has already conveyed its decision to the defence ministry, the French Embassy and the company, they added.
A court of inquiry has been initiated in Bangalore to probe the bribery scandal where the air force officer allegedly accepted money from the Dassault official. The incident took place only a few days before the show started on February 9.
The officer was deployed there to oversee the arrangements at the static display area and mark positions for the aircraft there. The inquiry court will probe if Thakur had taken any money from other companies also and if there was involvement of anybody else in the whole episode.
A Dassault spokesman in Paris described Rao as merely a witness.
“Rao is not accused but he’s a witness for having
informed about an attempted shakedown during that
air-show,” the official added. (WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING
FROM AFP)
Published in The Express Tribune, March 25th, 2011.
The Indian Air Force has put on hold its dealings with the country manager of French defence firm Dassault Aviation for his role in the bribery scandal during the Aero India show in Bangalore.
P V Rao, country manager of Dassault Aviation – one of the leading contenders for an $11 billion Indian government contract for 126 fighter aircraft – had allegedly acceded to the demand for a Rs20,000 ($400) bribes from Indian Air Force Wing Commander A K Thakur for providing Dassault a favourable place at the Bangalore air show last month. The officer was caught by defence ministry officials.
Rao had been barred from entering and having dealings with the Indian Air Headquarters until his role in the scandal is clarified, sources said.
However, sources said, the move to bar Rao was not going to have any impact on the prospects of the French firm or the whole tender to procure 126 medium-multirole combat aircraft (MMRCA).
The multi-billion dollar deal is in the final stages of review as the Indian defence ministry is expected to initiate commercial negotiations with one of the six vendors in the race for the deal. The IAF has already conveyed its decision to the defence ministry, the French Embassy and the company, they added.
A court of inquiry has been initiated in Bangalore to probe the bribery scandal where the air force officer allegedly accepted money from the Dassault official. The incident took place only a few days before the show started on February 9.
The officer was deployed there to oversee the arrangements at the static display area and mark positions for the aircraft there. The inquiry court will probe if Thakur had taken any money from other companies also and if there was involvement of anybody else in the whole episode.
A Dassault spokesman in Paris described Rao as merely a witness.
“Rao is not accused but he’s a witness for having
informed about an attempted shakedown during that
air-show,” the official added. (WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING
FROM AFP)
Published in The Express Tribune, March 25th, 2011.