Bofors ghost still haunts the dynasty
Aconfidential assessment made by the West-European Division of the Central Investigation Agency (CIA) of the US in the late 1980s had said that although there was sufficient and clinching evidence of bribery and commissions in the Bofors Scandal, the Swedish government called off the investigation in order to protect the image of the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
According to Manu Pubby of the Economic Times who got to see recently declassified CIA records, the documents said that “Stockholm wanted to save (Rajiv) Gandhi the troubles caused (to) him by the Swedish leak” and ward off a possible bribery indictment. Therefore, in order to achieve this, the two governments worked out a scheme to keep details of the payments secret.
The documents said that “almost certainly” payments were made by Sweden to win the India deal. It said the Swedish National Audit Bureau had concluded that as much as USD $ 40 million had been paid in commissions to middlemen.
However, in order to save Rajiv Gandhi, the Swedish government terminated its probe two years after the scandal broke out. The CIA documents only corroborate the fact that Bofors paid commissions and bribes to win the India deal.
The Bofors story dates back to the early 1980s when the process of procuring field guns for the Army began. Although Sofma of France was ahead in evaluations, Bofors clinched the deal in the final stages. Investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Sweden and Switzerland, following brilliant international investigation by Geneva-based journalist Chitra Subramaniam, clearly established that Bofors had paid commissions. The CBI procured bank documents that established Ottavio Quattrocchi as one of the beneficiaries.
These investigations by media persons and the CBI provided damning evidence that took the allegation of commissions and bribes right up to the doorsteps of the Nehru-Gandhis. For example, the investigators found that Bofors entered into a contract with a company called AE Services in the latter part of 1985 and offered this company three per cent commission, if the Indian contract was concluded before March 31, 1986. In other words, it was a time-bound deal.
AE Services had to deliver the contract within that deadline and strangely, the Rajiv Gandhi government signed the contract with Bofors on March 24, 1986—just one week before the expiry of this deadline! Two months later, India paid 20 per cent of the contract sum to Bofors, and Bofors, as per its contract with AE Services, promptly transferred 3 per cent of this amount—$7.383 million to the bank account of this company in Nordfinanz Bank, Zurich. The CBI found that AE Services, in turn, transferred this money to the bank account of a company called Colbar Investments. And who owned Colbar Investments? Maria and Ottavio Quattrocchi, the dear friends of Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi!
The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal which also probed payment of commissions also fully corroborated the money trail.
The bribery scandal broke out in April 1987, when the Swedish Radio declared that it had evidence of Bofors having paid bribes to people in India to clinch the deal. As Rajiv Gandhi’s image plummeted and he struggled to keep afloat in the swirl of scandal, another strange development took place. An AE Services official wrote to Bofors and said it did not want any more commission on the India deal!
The question on every Indian’s lips since 1987 is: How did Quattrocchi, an Italian, manage to swing the Bofors deal, before the expiry of the deadline set by the company? Who helped him achieve this rather extraordinary feat?
Why did Bofors pay this Italian a commission when we purchased guns for our Army? And finally, why did Quattrocchi forego subsequent payments that were “legitimately” due to him, after the scandal broke?
As everyone is aware, the Opposition went after Rajiv Gandhi, saying he had taken bribes in a defence deal and this led to the defeat of the Congress in the 1989 election. So many individuals involved in this scandal are no more. Rajiv Gandhi; Ottavio Quattrocchi; Martin Ardbo, who was President of Bofors when the deal was signed and whose diary entries provided vital clues to the Swedish police; the former Defence Secretary S K Bhatnagar; and Win Chadha, the company’s agent in India.
With the passing of each of these individuals, there would be speculation that the saga of Bofors would now end. But no such thing has happened. No financial or bribery scandal will fade out of public memory until there are adequate reparations for the losses suffered by the exchequer. Unless this happens, a scandal is deathless. It will linger in the public mind and will be passed on, possibly with some embellishments from one generation to another. While this is generally the case, it is more so in cases concerning national security.
The taking of bribes or commissions when India bought guns for her soldiers is deemed an act of treachery (Desha Droha) and is never forgiven. Despite this clinching evidence of the money trail, Maria Quattrocchi claimed after her husband’s death in 2013 that her husband was “hounded” for over 20 years.
The ghost of Bofors will continue to haunt the Nehru-Gandhis until they own up that bribes and commissions were paid to their near and dear ones by the Swedish arms manufacturer. The only Prayaschittha is honest admission by the family. Until then, as the latest evidence from the CIA files shows us, the ghost of Bofors will continue to haunt them and extract its price in political terms for the decisions made in 1986.