Airbus whistleblower's graft leak scuppered chopper deal?
New Delhi, May 12: Even as it is buffeted by bribery probes in several countries, aviation major Airbuss operation in India has flown into turbulence with reports of a whistleblower alleging graft in a chopper deal and the leak of sensitive classified information causing alarm in the government.
The Economic Times on Friday reported that Airbus Group has informed the Defence Ministry of an internal investigation into the allegations of the whistleblower over the tender for 14 twin-engine EC725 helicopters for the Indian Coast Guard. The deal is estimated to be worth Rs 2,000 crore.
According to the report, what has alarmed the government is that the whistleblower's letter making the allegation of graft had several highly classified documents attached to it.
When contacted, a senior Airbus Spokesperson said: "Airbus takes all whistleblower allegations very seriously and investigates such allegations thoroughly to ascertain any breach of its code of ethics and compliance. Airbus is fully dedicated to complying with its commitments and obligations under the Indian law."
He added: "Airbus will not comment on details of the press report concerning an Airbus Helicopter campaign."
Earlier, in February, Airbus had expressed that the commercial bid for the chopper deal that it had won, valid till February 15, had not been extended - and had therefore lapsed. Airbus had, however, refused to give any further details or the reasons behind the decision.
It is now being speculated that the whistleblower's allegation and the leak of documents, which first surfaced in December last year, may have been the reason for the non-extension of its commercial bid for the chopper deal.
According to the ET report, the anonymous letter sent to the Defence Ministry alleged that "benchmarking norms were changed and spare engine price calculations were hidden to favour Airbus and named three top coast guard officers as beneficiaries".
The report also alleged that "fugitive arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari and former business consultant Deepak Talwar, both of whom left the country after cases were registered against them by investigating agencies, acted as agents for Airbus".
The chopper deal was important for the Indian Coast Guard as it would have fulfilled its requirement for an advanced helicopter to step up its maritime surveillance so as to prevent a repeat of the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008.
Currently, the Coast Guard has aging Chetak helicopters and the Advanced Light Helicopter --Dhruv -- in its fleet.
While the Defence Ministry first began its conversation with Airbus almost six years back, the commercial bid for 14 of these medium lift helicopters was made in 2015, and Airbus had emerged as the lowest bidder.
The deal also involved offsets worth Rs 600 crore, and a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility was to be set up in Goa.
"Airbus is engaged with the Indian Coast Guard and the Ministry of Defence to fulfil the need for 14 twin-engine heavy duty choppers following a campaign in which Airbus emerged as the lowest bidder by a very wide margin," the Airbus spokesperson told here.
Airbus's India troubles come at a time it is bracing for a difficult landing over corruption allegations in several countries. According to media reports, the company's woes are a result of its use of "commercial agents" - or intermediaries -- who specialise in "difficult" territories where they can assist multinationals in securing contracts.
Often characterised as consultancy, such work can be legitimate where it involves technical advice, such as regulatory best practice when bidding for a government contract. In other instances, it is nothing more than a euphemism for knowing who to bribe and for how much, a report in The Guardian newspaper said.
According to another media report, trouble for the group began in 2014, when an internal review of supplier payments at Airbus exposed irregularities. It ended up reporting itself to Britain's Serious Fraud Office and to France's equivalent body for lying to export-credit agencies about bribes given by third-party consultants to secure sales.
In October last year, Airbus said it may have violated American rules on arms exports because of fees paid to sales agents to secure deals. Austrian and German authorities are also investigating bribery claims tied to the sale of $2.1 bn-worth of Eurofighter jets back in 2003, the report said.
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BMW hit-and-run case: HC refuses to release accused Mihir Shah on ground of 'illegal' arrest
Mumbai (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Monday refused to release Mihir Shah, the main accused in a BMW hit-and-run case, on the ground of "illegal" arrest.
Shah, the 24-year-old son of a former Shiv Sena leader, and his driver Rajrishi Bidawat had filed petitions in the HC claiming they have been illegally detained and sought immediate release.
Shah was arrested on July 9, two days after he allegedly rammed his BMW car into a two-wheeler in Mumbai's Worli area, killing 45-year-old woman Kaveri Nakhwa and leaving her husband Pradeep injured.
His driver Bidawat, who was also present in the car at the time of the accident, was arrested on the day of the incident.
As per their pleas, the police had not informed them the grounds of their arrest at the time, which they claimed was in violation of the law.
A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande on Monday dismissed the petitions.
"Both the petitions are dismissed," the court said.
The duo sought their release, claiming any further detention would be in utter violation of the constitutional mandate and a failure to comply with Section 50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Under this section, the police, while arresting a person, have to communicate to him/her full particulars of the offence for which he/she is being arrested or other grounds for such arrest.
Both Shah and Bidawat are presently in judicial custody.
In their habeas corpus (produce the person) petitions filed in the HC in August, Shah and Bidawat claimed their detention was illegal and sought that they be released immediately.
Shah, in the plea, sought quashing of the orders passed by a local court remanding him first in police custody and then judicial custody.
He also sought for his arrest to be declared as illegal.
Shah is accused of speeding off towards the Bandra Worli Sea Link after the accident, even as the woman remained on the bonnet of the car and then got entangled in its wheels, for a distance of more than 1.5 kilometres.
As per police, Shah, who fled from the scene, was under the influence of alcohol at the time.
Mihir Shah's father and former Shiv Sena leader Rajesh Shah had also been arrested in the case, but was later granted bail.
