London: alleged defense middlemen Sanjay Bhandari The UK has applied for political asylum and has also launched a €11m (Rs 92 crore) claim in a French court against a French arms company that, according to a British newspaper, will provide India with a future supply of Rafale military planes. could jeopardize sales.
The Daily Telegraph said it had seen the claim that Bhandari making up against Thales In a commercial court near Paris. Thales supplies avionics equipment for Dassault Aviation’s Rafale aircraft. Bhandari is asking the court to order Thales to pay the commission he says is owed, which Thales denies.
In his claim against Thales, Bhandari alleged that he was hired by Thales to secure a €2.4 billion (Rs 20 crore) contract to upgrade the Mirage 2000 military jet for the Indian Air Force. The contract was signed in 2011. The Telegraph states that “Mr. Bhandari alleged that from 2008 he helped sell upgrades to the Mirage jet to Thales by facilitating a meeting with a senior Indian official. He claims he was due for a consultancy fee.” €20m (Rs 167 crore) but only €9m (Rs 75 crore) was paid. Mr. Bhandari It is alleged that this was due to political factors in 2016 when he was close to the Indian Congress party. He claims that at this time the ruling BJP party… started torturing him. He fled to the UK where he is currently fighting extradition on unrelated matters and is claiming political asylum,” the British newspaper said.
This is the first time that Bhandari, who fled to Britain in 2016, has been accused of applying for political asylum in the UK.
According to the claim, Bhandari was paid by Thales “through an elaborate financial covert scheme in India and Dubai, which enabled middlemen to pay secret commissions. Thales was deployed to an exclusive subsidiary called Middle East and Africa”. is accused of being in charge of these financial structures”.
The claim alleges that Thales awarded offset contracts to two Bengaluru-based companies that paid a portion of the proceeds from Thales to a Dubai-based company called UHY Saxena Consulting, who paid the fees on account of Bhandari.
The paper speculated that the matter could affect India’s future purchases of Rafale fighter jets.
India is in the midst of buying 26 twin-engined fighter jets for India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) INS Vikrant in a deal worth over $2 billion.
A Rafale-M (Marine) fighter jet arrived in Goa from France last Thursday and is being test-fired by the Indian Navy from its shore-based test facility in Goa.
In March, the Indian Navy will test the Boeing-supplied F-18 Super Hornet in the US and then the Indian government will decide who to order.
The timing is significant as it comes weeks before Bhandari’s main extradition hearing begins in London on February 21. India is seeking to extradite Bhandari to India from London to face charges of tax evasion in India between April 24, 2016 and September 22, 2019. He is facing several other investigations and court cases in India.
Thales refuted the claims saying that he never hired Bhandari and did not use middlemen. A Thales spokesperson told TOI: “Mr Bhandari had filed a petition in a commercial court against Thales SA in June 2021 for settlement of amounts allegedly due to him on an aeronautical modernization project. strongly denied the claims about the amount by Thales SA or any other payment allegedly due to him by Thales SA. Thales has never signed any contract with Mr. Bhandari or his companies in relation to this project. Thales Law and implements a zero-tolerance policy on corruption and impact peddling. The program is regularly evaluated and revised to reflect changes in applicable law and best practices. The integrity of the group.”
The Daily Telegraph said it had seen the claim that Bhandari making up against Thales In a commercial court near Paris. Thales supplies avionics equipment for Dassault Aviation’s Rafale aircraft. Bhandari is asking the court to order Thales to pay the commission he says is owed, which Thales denies.
In his claim against Thales, Bhandari alleged that he was hired by Thales to secure a €2.4 billion (Rs 20 crore) contract to upgrade the Mirage 2000 military jet for the Indian Air Force. The contract was signed in 2011. The Telegraph states that “Mr. Bhandari alleged that from 2008 he helped sell upgrades to the Mirage jet to Thales by facilitating a meeting with a senior Indian official. He claims he was due for a consultancy fee.” €20m (Rs 167 crore) but only €9m (Rs 75 crore) was paid. Mr. Bhandari It is alleged that this was due to political factors in 2016 when he was close to the Indian Congress party. He claims that at this time the ruling BJP party… started torturing him. He fled to the UK where he is currently fighting extradition on unrelated matters and is claiming political asylum,” the British newspaper said.
This is the first time that Bhandari, who fled to Britain in 2016, has been accused of applying for political asylum in the UK.
According to the claim, Bhandari was paid by Thales “through an elaborate financial covert scheme in India and Dubai, which enabled middlemen to pay secret commissions. Thales was deployed to an exclusive subsidiary called Middle East and Africa”. is accused of being in charge of these financial structures”.
The claim alleges that Thales awarded offset contracts to two Bengaluru-based companies that paid a portion of the proceeds from Thales to a Dubai-based company called UHY Saxena Consulting, who paid the fees on account of Bhandari.
The paper speculated that the matter could affect India’s future purchases of Rafale fighter jets.
India is in the midst of buying 26 twin-engined fighter jets for India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) INS Vikrant in a deal worth over $2 billion.
A Rafale-M (Marine) fighter jet arrived in Goa from France last Thursday and is being test-fired by the Indian Navy from its shore-based test facility in Goa.
In March, the Indian Navy will test the Boeing-supplied F-18 Super Hornet in the US and then the Indian government will decide who to order.
The timing is significant as it comes weeks before Bhandari’s main extradition hearing begins in London on February 21. India is seeking to extradite Bhandari to India from London to face charges of tax evasion in India between April 24, 2016 and September 22, 2019. He is facing several other investigations and court cases in India.
Thales refuted the claims saying that he never hired Bhandari and did not use middlemen. A Thales spokesperson told TOI: “Mr Bhandari had filed a petition in a commercial court against Thales SA in June 2021 for settlement of amounts allegedly due to him on an aeronautical modernization project. strongly denied the claims about the amount by Thales SA or any other payment allegedly due to him by Thales SA. Thales has never signed any contract with Mr. Bhandari or his companies in relation to this project. Thales Law and implements a zero-tolerance policy on corruption and impact peddling. The program is regularly evaluated and revised to reflect changes in applicable law and best practices. The integrity of the group.”
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