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French firm cleared over Indian submarine deal, says official
New Delhi (AFP) July 17, 2008 Indian detectives have found no evidence to support allegations of bribery surrounding a deal with a French defence firm to buy Scorpene submarines, an official said Thursday. The Delhi High Court had last year ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into claims kickbacks were involved in the 2.4 billion euro deal. But the CBI has asked the court to close the case because it could not find evidence of bribery, a CBI official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "All angles of the case had been examined and we found no evidence of wrongdoing," the CBI official said. In October 2005 India signed contracts worth 2.4 billion euros (3.8 billion dollars) with Armaris, which is owned by France's Thales, and European defence firm MBDA to buy six of the Franco-Spanish submarines. The deal is a technology transfer agreement. The submarines will be assembled in India, but French naval group Direction des Compagnies Navales (DCN) will produce various key parts requiring equipment that is unavailable in Indian shipyards. An Indian pressure group and the main opposition party alleged New Delhi was shielding Indian middlemen who took commissions from French defence giant Thales to clinch the deal. Thales and the French government denied the allegations. Earlier this year, India scrapped a 600-million-dollar deal to buy 197 military helicopters from the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) after allegations of corruption in the bidding process. India banned middlemen in military deals following charges of bribery in a multi-billion-dollar artillery deal in the 1980s with Swedish firm Bofors. That scandal led to the downfall of prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's government in 1989. The slain leader's Congress party, which today heads the government -- is now led by his widow Sonia. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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