Quattrocchi detained at Argentina airport
Quattrocchi is an Italian businessman accused of involvement in the Rs 6.4 million Bofors Scandal.
By Agencies |
NEW DELHI: Ottavio Quattrocchi, prime suspect in the Bofors scandal has reportedly been detained at an airport in Argentina. An Interpol Red Corner notice was pending against him. The detention reportedly took place on February 6.
Quattrocchi is an Italian businessman accused of involvement in the Rs 6.4 million Bofors Scandal, the 1980s bribery scandal involving the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors and prominent Indian politicians, which led to the defeat of the Congress Party in the elections 1989.
Ottavio Quattrocchi was the India representative of Snamprogetti, a Milan-based Italian multinational company involved in engineering and construction projects.
It is said that during his tenure, he won as many as 60 projects worth Rs 300 billion from across Asian countries for Snamprogetti.
The scandal erupted in 1987 when Swedish radio revealed that Bofors -- facing stiff international competition -- had paid more than $50 million in bribes to secure a contract for the sale of field guns worth $1.4 billion to the Indian Army.
The question that came up at that time was how could an Italian businessman be the middleman between the Indian Army and Bofors, which is a Swedish company?
The answer lies in the believed proximity of Quattrocchi to the Gandhi family. It is said he became close to the Gandhi family because Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi`s wife and now the Congress party president, hails from Italy.
It is alleged Quattrocchi was so influential with the office of the prime minister - Rajiv Gandhi - that bureaucrats used to stand up when Quattrocchi visited them. It is also alleged he could get ministers and bureaucrats sacked if they snubbed or challenged his authority.
The CBI`s Bofors chargesheet against Quattrocchi claimed he was one of the beneficiaries of the bank accounts into which kickbacks in the Bofors deal were deposited.
The CBI said AE Services, a firm owned by Quattrocchi and his wife Maria, had received illegal payments to the tune of $7 million from the Swedish arms manufacturer.
When the Swiss authorities formally communicated to the Indian government in 1993 that the kickbacks in the Bofors case were deposited in Quattrocchi`s accounts, a Congress government -- headed by P V Narasimha Rao -- was in power. The Opposition immediately wanted the government to impound Quattrocchi`s passport and arrest him. But that was not done, and he was allowed to leave the country.
He left India for Malaysia on July 29, 1993. This forced the CBI to ask the Malaysian authorities and go through the elaborate legal requirements of that country in order to get Quattrocchi to face trial.
The CBI`s efforts to get Quattrocchi extradited to India have not yet succeeded. It was also alleged that the CBI was moving slow on the case was various reasons.
Quattrocchi is an Italian businessman accused of involvement in the Rs 6.4 million Bofors Scandal, the 1980s bribery scandal involving the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors and prominent Indian politicians, which led to the defeat of the Congress Party in the elections 1989.
Ottavio Quattrocchi was the India representative of Snamprogetti, a Milan-based Italian multinational company involved in engineering and construction projects.
It is said that during his tenure, he won as many as 60 projects worth Rs 300 billion from across Asian countries for Snamprogetti.
The scandal erupted in 1987 when Swedish radio revealed that Bofors -- facing stiff international competition -- had paid more than $50 million in bribes to secure a contract for the sale of field guns worth $1.4 billion to the Indian Army.
The question that came up at that time was how could an Italian businessman be the middleman between the Indian Army and Bofors, which is a Swedish company?
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The answer lies in the believed proximity of Quattrocchi to the Gandhi family. It is said he became close to the Gandhi family because Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi`s wife and now the Congress party president, hails from Italy.
It is alleged Quattrocchi was so influential with the office of the prime minister - Rajiv Gandhi - that bureaucrats used to stand up when Quattrocchi visited them. It is also alleged he could get ministers and bureaucrats sacked if they snubbed or challenged his authority.
The CBI`s Bofors chargesheet against Quattrocchi claimed he was one of the beneficiaries of the bank accounts into which kickbacks in the Bofors deal were deposited.
The CBI said AE Services, a firm owned by Quattrocchi and his wife Maria, had received illegal payments to the tune of $7 million from the Swedish arms manufacturer.
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When the Swiss authorities formally communicated to the Indian government in 1993 that the kickbacks in the Bofors case were deposited in Quattrocchi`s accounts, a Congress government -- headed by P V Narasimha Rao -- was in power. The Opposition immediately wanted the government to impound Quattrocchi`s passport and arrest him. But that was not done, and he was allowed to leave the country.
He left India for Malaysia on July 29, 1993. This forced the CBI to ask the Malaysian authorities and go through the elaborate legal requirements of that country in order to get Quattrocchi to face trial.
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The CBI`s efforts to get Quattrocchi extradited to India have not yet succeeded. It was also alleged that the CBI was moving slow on the case was various reasons.
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