Regarding the deal of Rafale fighter jets, French portal Mediapart has claimed that a bribe has been given to complete it. In a report on Monday, Mediapart claimed that it has evidence of bribes paid by French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation to help ensure the sale of 36 Rafale fighter jets to India.
On behalf of the French magazine Mediapart, it has been said that a bribe of 7.5 million euros (which is about 65 crores) was given to the middleman Sushen Gupta. False challans were used to make the payment. Sushen Gupta was earlier arrested for alleged bribery in the AgustaWestland deal.
The media portal has claimed that the CBI and the ED had evidence of bribery being paid since October 2018 but did not pursue the matter. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have evidence from October 2018 that French aviation firm Dassault paid middleman Sushen Gupta at least 7.5 million euros (equivalent to just Rs 650 million) in a secret commission.
Mediapart published a report in April that revealed how an influential Indian businessman was secretly paid millions of euros by Rafale maker Dassault Aviation and French defense electronics firm Thales. The report claimed that they were successful in removing anti-corruption clauses from the fighter jet deal, which was later signed by then French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Quoting Mediapart’s report, BJP leader Amit Malviya said that the UPA was taking bribes but could not close the deal. The NDA later canceled it and signed a contract with the French government. There is no reaction from the Congress on the latest report of MediaPart.
