A day after a Rs 880-crore deal for 262 Barak-I air defence missiles was clinched, the CBI on Tuesday filed a closure report in the Rs 1,150-crore Barak missile scam in which former Defence Minister George Fernandes, then Naval Chief Admiral Sushil Kumar, R K Jain and other Defence Ministry officials were accused.
In its closure report filed before the special CBI court, the investigative agency said the response received from foreign countries didn’t substantiate the kickback allegations levelled against Fernandes and others.
“Israel didn’t cooperate during the probe and refused to give further information required in the probe. It maintained that no kickback was paid to Indian officials to swing the deal in the Israeli company’s favour but denied sharing other details citing confidentiality,” said a source.
Sources said the agency had received replies from Israel, Germany, UAE, the UK and Mauritius.
In October 2000, the ministry headed by Fernandes signed a contract with Israel Aircraft Industries for the purchase of seven Barak missile systems and ammunition. Admiral Sushil Kumar was the Naval Chief when the contract was signed.
It was alleged that norms were violated by the government for procuring the missile systems despite the strong reservations raised by the Cabinet Committee on Security.
It was also alleged that kickbacks to the tune of 3 percent of the total deal amount were paid to middlemen.
After the CBI filed an FIR in the case in 2006, Fernandes told the agency that he had pressed ahead with the deal after Sushil Kumar sent a strong recommendation.
It was on Monday the ministry quickly moved to clear the purchase of 262 Barak-I air defence missile for `880 crore, paving the way for integrating them on board several Indian Navy warships.
However, since the cost of the Barak-I purchase exceeds `500 crore, it would have to get a final nod from the Cabinet Committee on Security, the Prime Minister-headed highest decision-making body of the government on matters defence and security. This approval is expected in about a month’s time.
“The Barak missile purchase has been cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council, headed by Defence Minister A K Antony,” a ministry source said here. The DAC also has Antony’s deputy Jitendra Singh, the three services chiefs and the secretaries of the ministry as members.