Rafale Controversy: French Media Reports Dassault Aviation Paid 1 Mn Euros To ‘Middleman’; Congress Demands Probe

A French media report has revealed that Dassault Aviation, the producer of French fight jet Rafale, had agreed to pay a million euro to an Indian man simply after the signing of the Indo-French contract in 2016.

Citing the findings of French anti-corruption company Agence Française Anticorruption (AFA), the French publication Mediapart in its report claimed that fee of 1.1 million euro was made to a person in India, described as a “middleman”, in reference to the ₹58,000 crore Rafale deal for 36 jets for the Indian Air Force.

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The report says that the French plane producer had paid the quantity to Defsys Solutions for 50 fashions of the plane which have been to be given as “gifts”. Defsys Solutions, India, is an organization enterprise meeting of flight simulators and optical and digital programs.

According to the report, Dassault had furnished an bill dated March 30, 2017. The bill, associated to 50% of the overall order (1,017,850 euros), was for the manufacture of fifty fashions of the Rafale C, with a value per unit of 20,357 euros. The manufacturing unit nevertheless failed to supply any documentary proof to the AFA inspectors, which may set up the existence of these fashions. The firm was additionally unable to clarify why the expenditure was listed as a “gift to clients” of their accounts.

The report has as soon as once more stirred a confrontation between Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party. While the opposition is demanding an intensive probe into the deal, the BJP rubbished the allegations and referred to as them “completely baseless”.

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Targeting the BJP-led central authorities, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala in a press convention stated, (*1*)

Meanwhile, the saffron occasion has hit again on the Congress for elevating the problem once more. Senior BJP chief Ravi Shankar Prasad stated that the opposition occasion tried to make it an enormous problem throughout 2019 Lok Sabha polls however misplaced badly.