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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'Well-planned conspiracy by UP CM Adityanath, BJP-RSS': Cong on Sambhal violence
New Delhi, Nov 24: In the wake of violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal, the Congress on Sunday alleged that the Yogi Adityanath administration is squarely responsible for killing innocents and only the BJP-RSS is guilty of "setting fire" to the peace and harmony there.
The opposition party said the videos of direct firing on the protesters in Sambhal depict the horrifying result of a "well-planned conspiracy" by Adityanath and the BJP-RSS.
Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said Adityanath's administration has once again shown a blatant disregard for communal harmony.
"In this entire matter, the BJP neither wanted the survey to proceed nor to stop it; its sole objective was to destroy harmony," he alleged.
Three people were killed and scores of others, including around 20 security personnel, were injured as the protesters opposing a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque Sambhal clashed with police on Sunday.
"No citizen in Uttar Pradesh is 'safe' under CM Adityanath, who gave the reprehensible slogan of 'Batenge toh Katenge'. This is evident by the highly deplorable incidents of Sambhal today," Khera said in a statement.
The videos of direct firing on the protesters in Sambhal depict the horrifying result of a "well-planned conspiracy" by Adityanath and the BJP-RSS, he alleged.
Western Uttar Pradesh, which has been a symbol of goodwill and harmony for years, has today witnessed three people killed and many injured under a "well-planned conspiracy", the Congress leader said.
"We say with full responsibility that the Adityanath administration is squarely responsible for killing innocents and only the BJP-RSS is guilty of setting fire to the peace and harmony of Sambhal. Modi-Yogi 'double assault' governments, which consider the minority community as second-class citizens, hurriedly got a petition filed in court," Khera said.
It is public knowledge that the court ordered an immediate survey without hearing the other side, he said.
"No action was taken against the rioters who accompanied the survey team. This makes it clear that after the by-elections in the state, the Yogi government has further intensified the politics of violence and hatred," he added.
The Congress leader said that questions are being raised about the role of the police and the administration because many innocent people have lost their lives in this violence and more than two dozen people have been injured.
"Inciting communal hatred and driving a wedge between two communities - is the DNA of BJP-RSS!" Khera said.
"On one hand, there is an empty slogan of 'Ek Hai Toh Safe Hain' - on the other hand, they divide communities! On one hand, there is lie of 'Sabka Saath- Sabka Vishwas' that has been going on for a decade, on the other hand, the minority community is constantly being targeted in Uttar Pradesh," he added.
The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh is destroying communal harmony and brotherhood for political gains, which is highly condemnable and objectionable, Khera said.
"We appeal to the BJP to prioritize the nation's interests over their political ambitions," he added.
"We want to ask Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Adityanath whether they will follow the statement of their own Mohan Bhagwat ji in June 2022 (even if it is pretentious!) in which he said that 'History is something that we cannot change. Neither today's Hindus nor today's Muslims made it, it happened at that time.... Why see Shivling in every mosque?.... Now we do not have to do any agitation..?'" Khera said.
"Neither Modi ji, nor Chief Minister Adityanath nor Mohan Bhagwat ji have the answer to this!" he added.
Khera said Rahul Gandhi has been continuously and stridently talked about 'Nafrat Ke Bazaar Mein Mohabbat Ki Dukaan' and in such a situation, an appeal is made to the people of Sambhal to recognise the politics of hatred, maintain mutual unity, amity and harmony, and take steps to protect their rights in a legal manner.
Moradabad Divisional Commissioner Aunjaneya Kumar Singh said the protesters torched vehicles and pelted stones at the police, who used tear gas and batons to disperse the mob.
"Shots were fired by the miscreants... the PRO of the superintendent of police suffered a gunshot to the leg, the police circle officer was hit by pellets and 15 to 20 security personnel were injured in the violence," he said.
Singh said that a constable also suffered a serious head injury, while the deputy collector fractured his leg.
Internet services have been suspended in Sambhal tehsil for 24 hours and the district administration declared a holiday on November 25 for all students up to Class 12.
Purported images shared on social media showed the protesters pelting stones at cops from atop buildings and in front of the Shahi Jama Masjid. Later, the police personnel were purportedly seen cornering and hitting people as they tried to disperse a large crowd in a narrow alleyway.
Our statement on the tragic and avoidable riots in Sambhal:
— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) November 24, 2024
संभल में हुए दुखद एवं परिहार्य दंगों पर कांग्रेस पार्टी का वक्तव्य: pic.twitter.com/uOpKjYbw8g
