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Howitzer gun deal abruptly
awarded to Bofors: CBI

CBI prosecutor U S Prasad told the Special Judge Prem Kumar that the Swedish firm clinched the deal because of Quattrochhi's close connection with the family of then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

He said Win N Chadda, an arms dealer, the then defence secretary S K Bhatnagar, A B Bofors president Martin Ardbo and the Hinduja brothers were involved in the deal from the beginning, but Quattrochhi got involved later.

The CBI counsel submitted that despite assurances from Bofors not to involve any middlemen in the deal, Chadda, Quattrocchi, and the Hindujas acted as agents for the company.

The agency said the statements of some witnesses indicate that the Italian businessman and his wife Maria Quattrochhi were frequent visitors to Gandhi's residence at 7 Race Course road and later at 10 Janpath.

Quattrochhi received the commission through oil and gas organisation A E Services and he later transferred the money to the Channel Islands, the counsel alleged.

Prasad said A E Services had assured the Swedish firm that the contract would be finalised before March 31, 1986, and Quattrochhi had gone to Sweden to brief Bofors in September 1985.

He claimed that the offer submitted by the French funding company SOFNA (Stichting Ontwikkelingsfonds Nederlandse Antillen) on March 12 was lower than that of A E Bofors, but the negotiation committee abruptly cut-short the issue on March 11 after receiving the Swedish firm's offer and issued the Letter of Intent to Bofors on March 14.

The CBI also said that Quattrochhi played the role of middleman in the deal, and former prime minister V P Singh, who was the finance minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1985, had refused to give Quattrochhi an appointment, since he was not officially involved in the deal.

EARLIER REPORTS:
CBI did not act independently in Bofors case: Court
Trial court rejects Hindujas' plea for quashing charge sheet

The Bofors Scandal: The Complete Coverage

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