Paris: French judges have been assigned to investigate multi-billion dollars from the controversial Rafale fighters jet to India about the suspicion of “corruption”, the National Finance Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) said Friday.
The 7.8-billion-euro agreement ($ 9.3 billion) for 36 aircraft between the Indian government and French aircraft manufacturer Dassault has long been mired in corruption allegations.
PNF has refused to investigate sales, encouraging French investigation websites Mediapart to accused him and French anti-corruption agents “buried” suspicion of September 2016.
In April, Mediapart claimed “million euro hidden commissions” given to the prime that helped Dassault concluded sales, which “Some …
can be given as bribes” to Indian officials.
Dassault replied that did not make mistakes marked in the group audit.
After the report, the French NGO Sherpa, who specializes in financial crimes, filed an official complaint for “corruption” and “influencing peddling” among other accusations, encouraging an investigative judge to investigate the agreement.
Sherpa has asked for an investigation into the agreement in 2018, but the PNF did not take action.
In this first complaint, NGOs have denounced the fact that Dassault chooses the Reliance Group as an Indian partner, a conglomerate led by Billionaire Anil Ambani, which is close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Dassult has officially won a contract in 2012 to supply 126 jets to India and have negotiated with the Indian Aerospace company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (p).
In March 2015, the talks almost reached conclusions, according to Dassault.
But in April that year, after Modi paid an official visit to France, the talk suddenly broke out with a public surprise.
Reliance Group, who has no experience in aeronautics, replaced things and complete a new contract for 36 jets.
In January 2016, during negotiations, Reliance had financed a joint film by Julie Gayet, partner Francois Hollande, who was the president at that time.
Sherpa believes this can be “the effect of peddling”.
Hollande said there was no conflict of interest, said France did not say anything to Indian Dassault partners.
The Le Monde French newspaper also revealed that France in 2015 canceled the tax adjustment of 143.7 million euros targeting the French company belonging to Reliance, when the agreement was negotiated.