#RafaleDeal: French NGO wants probe into Rafale deal, alleges corruption
A French anti-corruption NGO, Sherpa, has filed a complaint with the office of the French National Financial Prosecutor against the French government and Dassault Aviation, alleging corruption in the Rs. 59,000cr Rafale deal signed in September 2016. The complaint, filed at the end of October, has sought an investigation into the circumstances under which the deal was signed. Here are the details.
The NGO, which claims to "fight against illicit financial flows; corruption, money laundering, tax evasion", sought a probe on several aspects of the Rafale deal. It alleged that the French government and Dassault Aviation had engaged in "potential acts of corruption, granting of undue advantages, influence peddling, complicity of these offenses and money laundering" while striking the deal with India.
Further, Sherpa also sought a probe into the selection of Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence as an offset partner, citing that it had no prior experience in the manufacture of jets, and had been set up a mere 12 days before the deal was penned. The selection of Reliance Defence, in particular, has been a major contentious issue in India too.
Speaking to French publication Mediapart, William Bourdon, the founder of Sherpa, said that "everything" indicated that there was something off with the deal. He added that the information communicated to the office of the National Financial Prosecutor's Office should lead to the opening of an investigation "soon". However, as of now, it is unclear where a probe has been initiated.
Earlier, Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier had rubbished allegations of corruption levelled by Rahul Gandhi against the selection of Reliance Defence as an offset partner. Trappier had said that Dassault themselves had chose Reliance as an offset partner. Prior to this, however, former French President Francois Hollande had claimed that India had given France no choice in the selection of an offset partner.
