All About Bofors Scandal

It all started when India decided to purchase 400 155mm Howitzers (fancy word for
really-big-kickass-gun) from Swedish company Bofors AB for $1.4 billion in 1986.

In 1987 the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and several others were accused of
receiving kickbacks for this deal.
Ottavio Quattrochi was a businessman close to the Gandhi family and a prominent man in
the hallowed passages of Indian government. His name came up as the middleman in this
deal.
The Bofors scandal was huge. Rajiv Gandhi lost the 1989 elections due to the backlash of
these allegations.
Other accused included the Hinduja brothers and Win Chaddha, an agent of the Bofors
company. (Hi! My name is win. I am here to win your contract!)
Chaddha died in 2001. Gandhi was assassinated in 1991, and was cleared of the
corruption charges against him in 2004. In 2005, the charges against the Hinduja brothers
were dismissed by the Delhi High court.
The scale of the corruption was far worse than any that India had seen before, and
directly led to the defeat of Gandhi's ruling Indian National Congress party in the
November 1989 general elections. It has been speculated that the scale of the scandal was
to the tune of Rs. 640 million.
The case came to light during Vishwanath Pratap Singh's tenure as defense minister, and
was revealed through investigative journalism by Chitra Subramaniam and N. Ram of the
newspapers the Indian Express and The Hindu.
The name of the middleman associated with the scandal was Ottavio Quattrocchi, an
Italian businessman who represented the petrochemicals firm Snamprogetti. Quattrocchi
was reportedly close to the family of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and emerged as a
powerful broker in the '80s between big businesses and the Indian government. Even
while the case was being investigated, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991
for an unrelated cause. In 1997, the Swiss banks released some 500 documents after years
of legal wrangling and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a case against
Quattrocchi, Win Chadha, also naming Rajiv Gandhi, the defence secretary S. K.
Bhatnagar and a number of others. In the meantime, Win Chadha also died.
Meanwhile February 5, 2004 the Delhi High Court quashed the charges of bribery against
Rajiv Gandhi and others, but the case is still being tried on charges of cheating, causing
wrongful loss to the Government, etc. On May 31, 2005, the High court of Delhi
dismissed the Bofors case allegations against the British business brothers, Shrichand,
Gopichand and Prakash Hinduja.
In December 2005, the Mr B. Datta, the additional solicitor general of India, acting on
behalf of the Indian Government and the CBI, requested the British Government that two
British bank accounts of Ottavio Quattrocchi be de-frozen on the grounds of insufficient
evidence to link these accounts to the Bofors payoff. The two accounts, containing € 3
million and $1 million, had been frozen in 2003 by a high court order by request of the
Indian government (when the (now) opposition party BJP was in power). On January 16,
the Indian Supreme Court directed the Indian government to ensure that Ottavio
Quattrocchi did not withdraw money from the two bank accounts in London. The CBI
(Central Bureau Of Investigation), the Indian Federal law enforcement agency, on
January 23, 2006 admitted that roughly Rs 21 crore, about USD $4.6 million, in the two
accounts have already been withdrawn. The British Government released the funds based
on a request by the Indian Government.
However, on January 16, 2006, CBI claimed in an affidavit filed before the Supreme
court that they were still pursuing extradition orders for Ottavio Quattrocchi. The
Interpol, at the request of the CBI, has a long standing red corner notice to arrest
Quattrocchi.[8] Quattrocchi was detained in Argentina on 6 February 2007, but the news
of his detention was released by the CBI only on 23 February. Quattrocchi has been
released by Argentinian police. However, his passport has been impounded and he is not
allowed to leave the country.
However, as there was no extradition treaty between India and Argentina, this case was
presented in the Argentine Supreme Court. The government of India lost the extradition
case as the government of India did not provide a key court order which was the basis of
Quattrochi's arrest. In the aftermath, the government did not appeal this decision owing
delays in securing an official English translation of the court's decision.
The Italian businessman no longer figures in the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI)
list of wanted persons and the 12-year Interpol red corner notice against the lone
surviving suspect in the Bofors payoff case has been withdrawn from the agency’s
website after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s appeal
WHAT IS BOFORS: The Bofors 40 mm gun is a famous anti-aircraft autocannon designed
by the Swedish firm of Bofors. It was one of the most popular medium-weight anti-
aircraft systems during World War II, used by most of the western Allies as well as
various other forces. It is often referred to simply as the Bofors gun. The Swedish Navy
purchased a number of 2 pounder Pom-Poms from Vickers as anti-aircraft guns in 1922.
However the Navy eventually soured on the Pom-Pom and approached Bofors about the
development...
The name Bofors has been associated with the iron industry for more than 350 years.
Located in Karlskoga, Sweden, it originates from the hammer mill "Boofors" founded
1646. The company was founded in 1873. In 1999 Saab purchased the Celsius Group,
then the parent company for Bofors. In September 2000 United Defense Industries (UDI)
of the United States acquired Bofors Weapons Systems (the heavy weapons division),
while Saab retained the missile interests.
CHRONOLOGY
Following is the chronology of events in the Bofors howitzer payoff scandal:
March 24, 1986: A $1.4 billion contract between the Indian government and Swedish
arms company AB Bofors signed for supply of over 400 155mm howitzers.
April 16, 1987: Swedish Radio claims Bofors paid kickbacks to top Indian politicians and
key defence officials to secure the deal.
April 20, 1987: Then Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi assures the Lok Sabha that
neither was any middleman involved in the deal nor were kickbacks paid.
August 6, 1987: Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) set up under B. Shankaranand to
probe into allegations of kickbacks.
February 1988: Indian investigators visit Sweden.
July 18, 1989: JPC report presented to parliament.
November 1989: Rajiv Gandhi loses power as Congress defeated in general elections.
December 26, 1989: Then prime minister V.P. Singh's government bars Bofors from
entering into any defence contract with India.
January 22, 1990: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registers complaint in the
case.
January 26, 1990: Swiss authorities freeze bank accounts of Svenska and AE Services,
who allegedly received unauthorised commissions for the deal.
February 9, 1993: Supreme Court rejects former Bofors agent Win Chadha's plea for
quashing the letters rogatory sent by the trial court to its counterpart in Sweden seeking
assistance in the case.
July 12, 1993: Swiss federal court rules that India was entitled to Swiss bank
documents pertaining to the kickbacks.
July 29/30 1993: Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, who was representing
Italian fertiliser firm Snam Progetti for several years, leaves India to avoid arrest
warrant.
January 21, 1997: After four years of legal wrangles, secret documents running into
over 500 pages given to Indian authorities at a public ceremony in Berne.
January 30, 1997: CBI constitutes special investigation team for the case.
February 10, 1997: CBI questions ex-army chief General Krishnaswamy Sundarji.
February 12, 1997: Letters rogatory issued to Malaysia and United Arab Emirates (UAE)
seeking arrest of Quattrocchi and Win Chadha.
October 22, 1999: CBI files first chargesheet naming Win Chadha, Quattrocchi, former
Indian defence secretary S K Bhatnagar, former Bofors chief Martin Ardbo and Bofors
company. Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's name figured as "an accused not sent for
trial" as he was killed in 1991.
December 13, 1999: CBI team goes to Malaysia to seek extradition of Quattrocchi; fails
in its efforts.
Early 2000: Quattrocchi approaches the Supreme Court for quashing of arrest warrant
against him. Court asks him to appear before CBI for interrogation while protecting him
from being arrested. Quattrocchi refuses to accept the order, saying his counsel misled
the court.
March 18, 2000: Chadha comes to India to face trial.
September 29, 2000: Hindujas issue statement in London saying funds received by
them from Bofors had no connection with the gun deal.
October 9, 2000: CBI files supplementary chargesheet naming Hinduja brothers as
accused in the Bofors gun deal.
December 20, 2000: Quattrocchi arrested in Malaysia, gets bail but is asked to stay
within the country.
August 6, 2001: Former defence secretary Bhatnagar dies of cancer.
October 24, 2001: Win Chadha dies of heart attack at his New Delhi residence.
November 15, 2002: Hinduja brothers formally charged with cheating, criminal
conspiracy and corruption.
December 2, 2002: Malaysian court denies India's request for Quattrocchi's extradition.
July 28, 2003: Acting on India's request, Britain freezes Quattrocchi's bank accounts.
February 4, 2004: Delhi High Court clears Rajiv Gandhi of involvement in the Bofors
kickbacks scandal.
May 31, 2005: Delhi High Court clears Hindujas of involvement in the scandal.

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It all started when India decided to purchase 400 155mm Howitzers (fancy word for

really-big-kickass-gun) from Swedish company Bofors AB for $1.4 billion in 1986.

Following is the chronology of events in the Bofors howitzer payoff scandal:

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