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I n August 2009, a most unusual whistleblower flew into New Delhi. H. Hanumanthappa, 79, a former Congress MP from Karnataka, carried a letter which alleged deviations in the way the defence ministry was buying Czech-made Tatra trucks. He was armed with a confidential report prepared by an em- ployee of Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML). The report alleged the Bangalore-based defence PSU had violated defence procurement rules by buying the trucks not from the original equip- ment manufacturer but from a UK-based agent, Ravinder Kumar Rishi. The price of the trucks was also being inflated, he said. The trucks were being imported at between Rs 40 and Rs 80 lakh each but sold by BEML to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for twice the amount, a mark-up of over 100 per cent. This was not the first alarm on the deal. Red flags had been raised on grounds that MoD was dealing with a trading company instead of an original equipment manufacturer. Since 2006, MODs Defence Procurement Procedure makes it mandatory to deal with original equipment manufacturers. In 2005, Brigadier I.M. Singh in the office of the Master General of Ordnance (MGO), responsible for procuring ammunition and vehicles in the army, alleged irregularities in the purchase of Tatra trucks. He was posted out of the MGO. In 2005, a television channel reported on the deal, won- dering how a psu could deal directly with a subsidiary. In 2006, two private sector de- fence firms, Larsen and Toubro and Tata Power, collaborating on a DRDO project, were asked by BEML to pay Rs 40 lakh extra per Cover Story DEFENCE By Sandeep Unnithan & Shantanu Guha Ray SHOOTING IN THE DARK (LEFT) A TATRA TRUCK CARRYING THE PRITHVI MISSILE; A.K. ANTONY Photographs by REUTERS Tatra truck deal has blown the lid off a shadowy world of arms dealers who operate with impunity

Transcript of Cover Story DEFENCE SHOOTING IN THE DARKmedia1.intoday.in/indiatoday/Tatra-truck.pdf ·...

Page 1: Cover Story DEFENCE SHOOTING IN THE DARKmedia1.intoday.in/indiatoday/Tatra-truck.pdf · 2013-02-16 · irregularities in the purchase of Tatra trucks. He was posted out of the MGO.

In August 2009, a most unusual whistleblower flew into New Delhi. H. Hanumanthappa, 79, a formerCongress MP from Karnataka, carried aletter which alleged deviations in theway the defence ministry was buyingCzech-made Tatra trucks. He was armed

with a confidential report prepared by an em-ployee of Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML). Thereport alleged the Bangalore-based defencePSU had violated defence procurement rules bybuying the trucks not from the original equip-ment manufacturer but from a UK-basedagent, Ravinder Kumar Rishi. The price of thetrucks was also being inflated, he said. Thetrucks were being imported at between Rs 40and Rs 80 lakh each but sold by BEML to theMinistry of Defence (MoD) for twice theamount, a mark-up of over 100 per cent.

This was not the first alarm on the deal.Red flags had been raised on grounds that MoDwas dealing with a trading company insteadof an original equipment manufacturer. Since2006, MOD’s Defence Procurement Proceduremakes it mandatory to deal with originalequipment manufacturers. In 2005, BrigadierI.M. Singh in the office of the Master Generalof Ordnance (MGO), responsible for procuringammunition and vehicles in the army, allegedirregularities in the purchase of Tatra trucks.He was posted out of the MGO. In 2005, atelevision channel reported on the deal, won-dering how a psu could deal directly with asubsidiary. In 2006, two private sector de-fence firms, Larsen and Toubro and TataPower, collaborating on a DRDO project, wereasked by BEML to pay Rs 40 lakh extra per

CoverStory DEFENCE

By Sandeep Unnithan & Shantanu Guha Ray

SHOOTING IN THE DARK

(LEFT) ATATRATRUCKCARRYING THE PRITHVI

MISSILE; A.K.ANTONY

PPhhoottooggrraapphhss bbyy RREEUUTTEERRSS

Tatra truck deal hasblown the lid off ashadowy world ofarms dealers whooperate with impunity

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APRIL 23, 2012 u INDIA TODAY 2120 INDIA TODAY u APRIL 23, 2012

CoverStory DEFENCE

truck over the initial Rs 80 lakh—thetwo companies needed 28 Tatra trucksto mount indigenously developedPinaka rockets they had been nomi-nated to produce. Both companies re-fused. In March 2010, the MOD boughtan additional 788 trucks from GlobalVectra, owned by Rishi, at rates thatwere inflated by over 40 per cent. Over7,000 Tatra trucks have been boughtover the past 25 years for over Rs 5,000crore. Yet it was only on March 30 thatCBI filed a First Information Reportnaming Rishi as the main accused in acase to defraud the nation.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony actedonly after he came under pressurefrom outgoing army chief General V.K. Singh, who was fed up of the sleazethat has crept into the armed forces. Ina March 26 newspaper interview,General Singh alleged he was offered aRs 14-crore bribe to clear ‘600 substan-dard vehicles’ in this deal. TheSeptember 2010 bribe offer, the chiefalleged, came from retired Lt-GeneralTejinder Singh. In his formal complaintto the CBI in April, General Singh namedRishi as the person on whose behalf

Lt-Gen Tejinder Singh was offering abribe. CBI has registered a preliminaryinquiry into the allegation.

The Tatra deal is only the tip of theiceberg. Ambitious arms agents co-exist with corrupt officials and easy-to-co-opt politicians. Officially, armsagents have ceased to exist at leastsince August 2006. All defence compa-nies have had to sign an integrity pactwhere they promise not to hire agentsor pay bribes. Manufacturers riskbeing blacklisted if they use agents. Yetmiddlemen continue to thrive. ‘Successfees’ of up to 10 per cent for a defencedeal are routinely handed out to agentsand key decision-makers. The kick-backs are disguised as legal fees tolawyers, consultancies for retired armyofficials and payments to event man-agement companies. As defence ana-lyst C. Uday Bhaskar puts it, “Ourhighly bureaucratic and secretive pro-cedures for procuring defence hard-ware add to the corruption.”

It’s big business. India is the world’slargest arms importer. Between 2007and 2011, the country imported armsworth over $12 billion (Rs 60,000

crore). Over the next decade, India willimport arms worth over $100 billion(Rs 5 lakh crore). Among the deals inthe pipeline are Rs 90,000 crore to buy126 Rafale combat jets, Rs 50,000crore for six submarines and an esti-mated Rs 20,000 crore to buy 2,700howitzers. Suppliers include the mili-tary industrial complexes of the US,France, Russia, Israel and the UK.

A series of scandals has finally casta shadow over Antony, who presidesover a procurement process that in-cludes eight defence public sector un-dertakings and 40 ordnance factories.He is a traditional Congress leftist, adefender of the public sector, and has built a career on probity. But heappears to have allowed some ques-tionable arms deals to continueunchecked. In 2009, CBI arrested theformer chairman and managing direc-

tor of Ordnance Factory Board SudiptaGhosh. The Ordnance Factory Board isthe apex authority that controls the 40factories under MOD. Ghosh allegedlyreceived bribes from two Indian andfour foreign defence firms, whichAntony subsequently blacklisted onMarch 5. Antony said the ban followedadvice from CBI, which had collectedevidence against these companies (seebox: Blocked from Business).

The ban may not stop the hectic lob-bying for a slice of the arms pie in India.A fortnight before the Indian Gover-nment inked a multi-billion dollar dealfor 126 new generation fighter jets forthe Indian Air Force (IAF) on January 31,Bernard Baiocco, a French arms con-sultant, visited New Delhi to take part innegotiations with top defence officials.London’s The Sunday Times, in a storyheadlined ‘Inside a 18 billion dogfight’,

Ahead in the arms raceIndia ranks first among world’s topfive arms importers in 2007-2011

All roads lead to IndiaFive countries are the main suppliers ofIndia’s defence requirements *

Splurge offensiveThe army, navy and air force have lined upbig buys between 2012 and 2016

India South Korea Pakistan China Singapore

$12.

6 bn

$7.3

bn

$6.9

bn

$6.3

bn

$5.1

bn

RussiaUKIsrael

USA

France

Air Force

$30 bnNavy

$15 bnArmy

$5.2 bn

$9.5 bn

$2.4 bn

$1.9 bn

$13.7 bn $4.7 bn

The incorruptible defence minister has ensured that plum defence projects land up in his native state, Kerala

In order to protect his squeaky cleanimage,A.K.Antony has always triedto steer clear of allegations of

favouritism. But since becoming Uniondefence minister in 2006,Antony hasbeen liberal in directing investmentback home, even though for much ofhis tenure, the Left Democratic Front(LDF) was in power. In the past fiveyears,Antony has granted as many assix Ministry of Defence projects toKerala with a combined capital outlayof more than Rs 1,000 crore. In spite oftheir bitter political differences, Elama-ram Kareem, industries minister in theprevious LDF government, and Antonyworked out a cordial relationship to setup new projects.The alliance came tobe dubbed as the EK-AK formula.

1 BBrraahhMMooss AAeerroossppaacceeTThhiirruuvvaannaanntthhaappuurraamm LLttdd.. It is awholly owned subsidiary of BrahMosAersospace Ltd, New Delhi, an Indo-Russian project under theMinistry of Defence. It commenced operations in 2008 by taking over the facilities of a state PSU with an invest-

ment of RRss 115500 ccrroorree.. The firm has 445500eemmppllooyyeeeess and manufactures compo-nents for BrahMos missiles.

2 SSttrraatteeggiicc EElleeccttrroonniiccss MMaannuuffaaccttuurriinnggFFaacciilliittyy iinn KKaassaarrggooddee ddiissttrriicctt It is theelectronics arm of HindustanAeronautics Limited, Bangalore. It was started with an investment of RRss 220000 ccrroorree.. The firm manufacturesradars, navigation systems, mission computers and early warning systems

for Light Combat Aircraft, advanced light helicopters and Sukhois. It is yet to be inaugurated.

3 BBEEMMLL DDeeffeennccee aanndd RRaaiill PPrroodduuccttssDDiivviissiioonn,, PPaallaakkkkaadd The manufacturing facility of BEML Ltd commenced opera-tions in 2010 with an investment of RRss 226600 ccrroorree.The firm has 550000 eemmppllooyy--eeeess and manufactures Tatra trucks,pontoon bridge systems and rail coaches.

4 BBEELL PPrroodduucctt SSuuppppoorrtt CCeennttrree,, KKoocchhii

A unit under Bharat Electronics Ltd to sup-port outsourcing products for navy and airforce and to provide waterfront support toSouthern Naval Command. It was inaugu-rated by Antony in FFeebbrruuaarryy 22001111..

5 IInnddiiaann CCooaasstt GGuuaarrdd AAccaaddeemmyy,,KKaannnnuurr Kannur was chosen for the acad-emy overlooking Pune’s claims. It was in-augurated in 22000099 and the foundation stone laid in May 2011.The academy iscoming up on 116644 aaccrreess of land providedby the previous LDF government near theIndian Naval Academy at Ezhimala.Withan estimated cost of RRss 772200 ccrroorree, it isexpected to provide training to 440000CCooaasstt GGuuaarrdd ppeerrssoonnnneell at a time.

6 NNaattiioonnaall IInnssttiittuuttee ffoorr RReesseeaarrcchh aannddDDeevveellooppmmeenntt iinn DDeeffeennccee SShhiippbbuuiillddiinngg((NNIIRRDDEESSHH)) aatt KKoozzhhiikkooddee It is under the department of defence production in the Ministry of Defence.The foundationstone was laid by Antony in JJaannuuaarryy22001111. NIRDESH is the first of its kind in thecountry and is wholly funded by the de-fence ministry and all defence shipyards in the country. by M.G. Radhakrishnan

THE BEMLDEFENCE AND RAILPRODUCTS DIVISION IN PALAKKAD

ANTONY SECURES HOME FRONT

Source: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)

* 2007-2011; Source: SIPRI

TH

E H

IND

U

MAIL TODAY

A.K.ANTONYACTED ONLYAFTER HE CAME UNDERPRESSURE FROM OUTGOING ARMYCHIEFGENERALV.K. SINGH,WHO WAS FED UP OFTHE SLEAZE.

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said Baiocco, a former employee of thedefence firm Thales that contributesradar and electronic systems to Rafale,was part of a team set up by the consor-tium GIE Rafale, a group of 500 compa-nies involved in making the fighter jets.

Janata Party President Subra-manian Swamy, whose meticulous in-vestigations into the 2G telecom scandalshook the nation, suggests Baiocco’srole was influential. “He stayed in Delhifor nearly a week and met a number ofkey people. I was told that the Euro-fighter (produced by an Italian,Germany and UK consortium EADS)had almost won the Rs 90,000-crorecontract to supply 126 multi-rolemedium combat jets and then, sud-denly, everything changed and Dassaultwon the deal,” Swamy told INDIA TODAY.

That’s not all. On January 30, theCabinet Committee on Security (CCS) de-layed a Rs 1,850-crore deal for buying

75 basic trainer aircraft for IAF. CCS

sought clarifications from the defenceministry after an official complaint fromthe South Korean government to thePrime Minister’s Office (PMO) on the se-lection process, in which one of its de-fence companies, Korean AerospaceIndustries (KAI), also took part.Switzerland’s aviation giant PilatusAircraft Ltd was the contender.

KAI, placed second in the pricing bid,alleged discrepancies in the commer-cial bid of Pilatus, which won the bid.The Korean company alleged that theSwiss had not factored the costs ofmaintenance transfer of technology(TOT) into the bidding price, and werethus able to show a lower bid. “Thisleaves us (IAF) with a much higher costof ownership/life cycle of the aircraft,”wrote Anantha Venkatarami Reddy, anMP from Andhra Pradesh, in a letter tothe Prime Minister in December 2011.

“But despite that, MOD officials de-cided to ignore all Defence Procur-ement Procedures to favour Pilatus forreasons only known to them. I am in-formed that MOD received a lot of tech-nical and financial data from Pilatuspost opening of bids in order to com-plete their files. This is complete viola-tion of the laid down procedures ofMOD,” Reddy wrote in his letter.

For nearly a decade, CBI haschargesheeted arms dealers, MOD anddefence officials in as many as 18 caseswith little success. In 2005, London-based middleman Vipin Khanna andDelhi-based arms agent MohinderSingh Sahni were chargesheeted for

allegedly earning commissions to facil-itate supply of 1,200 anti-materialrifles from South Africa’s Denel (seebox: At Arm’s Length).

The following year (2006), SureshNanda was chargesheeted for al-legedly receiving kickbacks in theBarak anti-missile system deal be-tween Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI)and the Indian Army and then in the import of Armoured RecoveryVehicles from Slovakia. Investigationsby the country’s premier investigatingagency have been held up due to pend-ing Letters Rogatory in Israel and UK.The agency also chargesheeted armsagent Sudhir Choudhrie for allegedlyearning commission in the 2000 dealto install seven Barak missile systemson Indian naval warships. CBI recentlyclosed the case against Choudhrieafter failing to prove whether globalremittances into his accounts werecommissions, but the EnforcementDirectorate will continue a similarprobe against the businessman.

The same year also saw the agencychargesheeting arms agent AbhishekVerma, who acted as a middleman andearned hefty commissions from Thalesof France to push the sale of the French

22 INDIA TODAY u APRIL 23, 2012

Coverstory DEFENCE

BLACKLISTED

On March 5,A K Antonyhanded out a 10-year ban tosix companies for offeringbribes to the Ordnance chief

ON JANUARY 30,A RS 1,850-CRORE DEAL FOR BUYING 75 BASIC TRAINER AIRCRAFTWAS STALLEDAFTER SOUTH KOREA CRIED FOUL.

Blocked fromBusiness I

ndia spends Rs 2 lakh crore every yearto maintain its military, the world’sthird largest. Its armed forces spend

Rs 79,000 crore in importing warships,tanks and fighter jets.The acquisitionprocess begins when one of the servicedirectorates within an armed force liststhe parameters of a weapon system.This is called Service QualitativeRequirement.These requirements areforwarded to the Director-General,Weapons and Equipment, a Lt-Generalwho works under the deputy chief ofarmy staff.The DG reviews the case andthen forwards the file to the defence sec-retary for clearance.

DG-Acquisitions then enters the scene.Usually an IAS officer of the additionalsecretary rank, the DG-Acquisitions headsthe Defence Procurement Board whichhas been designated as the Ministry ofDefence’s (MOD) procurement board for allnew acquisitions since 2001.This board isheaded by a special secretary or an addi-

tional secretary. It is assisted by a finan-cial adviser (acquisitions) of the rank ofadditional secretary and three acquisitionmanagers, three technical managers andthree financial managers dealing withland, air and naval systems. It invites com-mercial bids from leading manufacturerswho have been identified as suppliers ofmilitary hardware.The hardware manu-facturers have to bring in their equipmentfor field trials, often lasting over a year, indifferent climatic conditions.Trials are su-pervised by teams from the Weapons andEquipment Directorate.The directoratecarries out a general evaluation reportbased on the trial results.

A Price Negotiation Committee, setup and headed by joint secretary (acqui-sitions), picks the lowest bidder and be-gins commercial negotiations.After thedeliberations comes the final stage inwhich a proposal is forwarded to theCabinet Committee on Security for finalclearance. Headed by the Prime Minister,

this apex body includes Union ministersof defence, finance, home and externalaffairs.A contract is signed with the ven-dor. MOD estimates that the entireprocess could take up to two-and-a-halfyears. In actual practice, it takes over sixyears for the Government to purchaseeven simple items like ballistic helmetsto protect soldiers.

LONG ROAD TO ACQUISITION

VENDORS AND ARMYMEN ATASTALLATTHE DEFEXPO IN DELHI IN MARCH

The defence procurement process is multi-layered and long drawnout. It often leads to delays, even in the purchase of basic items.

THE FIVEBIG BUYS

Army,Air Force and Navy have allgone in for big-ticket acquisitions

DASSAULT RAFALE126 Rafale Multi Role MediumCombat jets for the IAF by2016—Rs 90,000 crore.

HDW SUBMARINESSix submarines for navy underProject 75 India to start buildingby 2017—Rs 50,000 crore.

155 mm HOWITZERS2,700 howitzers for the army by 2017—Rs 20,000 crore.

CARBINES,ASSAULTRIFLES 4,60,638 carbines andassault rifles for the army by 2015—Rs 11,572 crore.

SURFACE-TO-AIRMISSILESFour regimentsof air defencemissiles for thearmy by 2015—Rs 10,500 crore.

H C TIWARI

SINGAPORE TECHNOLOGIESKINETICSNo charges have been brought againstit.The publicly held company, one ofAsia’s largest defence andengineering groups, has filed petitionsin the Delhi High Court to overturn theblacklisting decision.

ISRAEL MILITARY INDUSTRIESThe state-owned main manufacturerof defence platforms for IsraeliDefence Force has been embroiled inthe Barak missiles controversy. It par-ticipated in Defexpo in Delhi and itslast order from the Ordnance Factoryin March 2009 was worth Rs 45 crore.

RHEINMETALLAIR DEFENCEThe publicly held Swiss company isone of the largest European suppliersof arms technology. It participated inDefexpo in Delhi and has asked Indianauthorities to offer conclusive evidence of the allegations, failingwhich it will seek legal recourse.

CORPORATION ZASHCHITA,RUSSIAThe 19-year-old private company,which specialises in manufacturingspecial and armoured vehicles, hasnot yet commented on the ban.

T.S. KISAN AND CO, DELHIThe privately-owned company, whichmakes 155mm Bofors shells and isowned by J.S.Thapar, has beencharged by CBI with giving a Rs 30 lakh bribe to then Ordnancechief Sudipta Ghosh.

R K MACHINE TOOLS,LUDHIANAThe CBI chargesheet in 2010 namedSunil Handa, a manager of the privatecompany, for paying a Rs 2.5 lakhbribe to Ghosh for receiving orders inTamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

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APRIL 23, 2012 u INDIA TODAY 25

submarine Scorpene to the IndianNavy. Verma is out on bail, but the casecontinues. Much depends on the CBI’sability to extradite Verma’s friend RaviSankaran, the key suspect in the navalwar room leak.

In 2007, arms dealer Ravi Rishi’scompany, Global Vectra Helicorp, wasembroiled in a scandal leading to thecancellation of the multi-billionEurocopter deal for purchase of 197choppers for the Indian Army. GlobalVectra Helicorp was headed by Lt-Gen(retired) SJS Sehgal, also a director ofthe Vectra Aviation, the sole distributorof the Eurocopter choppers, a perfectexample of how retired army officersare co-opted. Sehgal’s youngerbrother, then serving Lt-General H.S.Sehgal, was involved in the trials of theBell and Eurocopter choppers to selectthe bidder. The Rs 3,000-crore dealwas cancelled after Bell complained toMOD, blaming the brothers for trying toswing the deal in favour of Eurocopter.

On March 30, CBI filed an FIRagainstRishi and started his interrogation forselling overpriced Tatra trucks to theIndian Army. No one disputes the util-ity of Tatra, named after a Europeanmountain range. They are used to towtanks, howitzers and carry rockets, aswell as Agni and Prithvi missiles. Likethe Bofors howitzers, quality is not theissue: A competitor grudgingly de-scribes its “centipede-like ability” toglide over obstacles thanks to a multi-wheeled drive. But quality is no reasonfor graft and inflated pricing.

CBI has also registered a caseagainst “unknown” BEML executivesfor criminal conspiracy to defraud thenation. It has questioned VRS Nata-rajan, the chairman and managing di-rector of the Bangalore-based defencePSU. BEML had violated rules by dealingwith Rishi’s firm Global Vectra. ButNatarajan has been smart enough toinvest in Antony’s backyard, setting upa Rs 260-crore factory in Palakkad.

Cover Story DEFENCE

The facility would employ over 500 per-sons. As a former chief minister ofKerala, Antony had a constituency toprotect (see box: Antony secures homefront). Such a consideration didn’tseem to affect the previous defenceminister, Pranab Mukherjee, who didnot set up any defence PSUs in WestBengal in his two-year tenure.

When it signed the March 2003 dealwith BEML, say CBI officials, GlobalVectra pretended to be an originalequipment manufacturer. It washowever an agent for the CzechRepublic-based firm that made thetrucks. “There is no violation of thedefence procurement rules as TatraSipox (UK) is an authorised vendor andsold to BEML and not directly to MOD,”

says Diliep Singh, vice-president, com-munications, Vectra Group. “TatraSipox (UK) is a single window for sup-plying technical support, providestransfer of technology to BEML and de-velops new products on behalf of bothfactories (in Czech Republic andSlovakia). It is clearly more than a‘trading company’,” he said.

Rishi, who is being questioned byCBI, is said to have made several reve-lations that will expand the probe, sug-gesting a complex network ofbureaucrats and army officers he “in-vested” in. In particular, he has men-tioned a bureaucrat couple who arebeing investigated for amassing exces-sive wealth. There are chances thatRishi, whose passport has been im-

pounded, could be arrested. Agencieslike the ED and DRI will look into themoney trail of his multiple companies.

“Agents have continued to thrive inIndia and continued to manipulate theGeneral Staff Quality Requirementsand tender requirements. From thesmallest tender for shops near defenceestablishments to big arms deals,agents are everywhere,” says Trina-mool Congress MP Ambika Banerjee.He recently blamed the Prime Ministerand the defence minister for ignoring anumber of letters he wrote on defencecorruption—the last one written onMay 11, 2011— stretching from bribesin sanctioning military shops to hard-ware acquisitions.

UPA had brought in Antony to cleanup the defence ministry; after all, theCongress and the family that controls ithad suffered grievously from a previousarm deals. A clean defence ministrywas to be the family legacy, not Bofors.Now it may well be Tatra. n

TAINT ONTRUCKS Tatra’s long journey beforethe brakes were applied on it

1986 MoD signs contract withOmnipal, the authorised Czech governmentagency for defence exports. BEML also signs Transfer of Technology deal withOmnipal under which the trucks would be manufactured in India.

1997 Ravi Rishi’s Tatra Sipox (UK)signs 10-year deal for Tatra trucks with BEML.

2003 Rishi’s other company, GlobalVectra, signs deal for supply of Tatra trucksto BEML, superseding the earlier contractsigned in 1997. The motive behind it is notknown. CBI is investigating the case.

2003 BEML MD VRS Natarajan tells MOD

he was compelled to deal with Tatra Sipox.After the breakup of Czechoslovakia,thefirm became a majority shareholder in theoriginal Czech manufacturer Sipox AS.

2005 L&T,Tata consortium for Pinakarockets points out discrepancies in cost ofTatra trucks. TV report reveals that MoD isdealing with an agent,not the original equip-ment manufacturer (OEM). BEML says GlobalVectra is a subsidiary of OEM Tatra.

August 2009 KarnatakaCongress leader H. Hanumanthappa writesto Sonia Gandhi alleging MoD is buyingTatras from agent and not OEM. Letterreaches Antony two months later.

March 2010 Yet MoD buys 788Tatras from Global Vectra for Rs 632 crore.

February 21, 2012 Antonysanctions prosecution of Ravi Rishi by CBI.

March 26, 2012 V.K. Singh alleges bribe offer from a formerLieutenant-General to clear shipment of600 substandard vehicles.

March 30, 2012 CBI FIR namesRishi,‘unknown’BEML executives for conspiracy to defraud Government.

NO ONE DISPUTES THE UTILITYOFTATRATO TOWTANKS, HOWITZERS AND CARRY ROCKETS. BUT QUALITYIS NO REASON FOR GRAFTAND INFLATED PRICING.

SUDHIRCHOUDHRIE 64President, MagnumInternational and EurekaSales Corporation

Choudhrie left India in 2006 shortly beforeCBI filed an FIR against him in the Barak mis-sile case.Another case was registered byCBI against him in 2007 for alleged payoffsto him from Israeli gun manufacturerSoltam. He returned to India in 2011 afterCBI closed its cases for lack of evidence.Known as Bunny to friends, he is a majordonor to UK’s Liberal Democratic Party.

SURESH NANDA 71Chairman, Claridges Hotelsand Resorts Group

Aformer Lt-Commander inthe navy,Nanda was impli-

cated in 2001 for receiving kickbacks in theBarak anti-missile system deal and importof armoured recovery vehicles (ARV).TheBarak probe is held up due to pendingLetters Rogatory (LR) in Israel and UK; CBI isscrutinising ARV case LRs.Nanda served a 53-day jail term for fudging foreign accounts.

VIPIN KHANNA 76Chairman,TSL DefenceTechnologies

Patriarch of a politicallypowerful family, Khanna,

an NRI businessman based in London, hasfigured in two CBI cases pertaining to thedeal with Denel of South Africa for supplyof 1,200 anti-material rifles. Khanna’sname first figured in the Justice R.S.Pathak panel probe into the Iraqi oil-for-food scam.The Enforcement Directorate isprobing sources of funds remitted to hisand his family’s accounts in India.

ABHISHEKVERMA 44Chairman,Atlas DefenceSystems Ltd and AtlasInteractive India Pvt Ltd

Abhishek was named as a middleman inthe Rs 18,000 crore-plus Scorpene Frenchsubmarine deal, which allegedly involvedkickbacks of Rs 500 crore. He spent nearlytwo years in jail between 2006 and 2008.Verma allegedly hosted parties for armyand naval officers in return for favours.

M.S. SAHNI 76Chairman, Mokul Group of Companies & honorarycounsel, Belize

Delhi-based MohinderSingh Sahni was caught on tape by aweekly magazine talking about approach-ing then BJP president Bangaru Laxman for an arms deal in 2006. CBI has alsoestablished links between Sahni and the charge-sheeted former OrdnanceFactory head Sudipta Ghosh. Sahni hasbeen most active in Russia and formerSoviet republics.

RAVI RISHI 58Chairman,Vectra Group

The promoter of the VectraGroup left India over aquarter-century ago.After

the fall of communism, Rishi’s VectraGroup acquired Tatra and expanded its op-erations in India and Eastern Europe. Oneof his subsidiaries, Global Vectra Helicorp,was also embroiled in a scandal leading to the cancellation of the multi-billionEurocopter deal in 2007.

AT ARM’S LENGTH These businessmen have been linked to India’sbooming weapons bazaar

PINAKAROCKET

Ambika BanerjeeTrinamool Congress MP

Agents havecontinued tothrive inIndia andcontinued tomanipulatethe GeneralStaff QualityRequire-ments.

‘‘

‘‘

H. HanumanthappaCongress leader and former MP

I discoveredmalpractices inBEML’S purchaseof Tatra vehi-cles in 2009. Itwas my duty tobring suchlapses to thenotice of theministry.

‘‘

‘‘