Watch the video interview with the French reporter who investigated the Rafale deal

There is now enough evidence on the table, says Yann Philippin in Paris in an interview to Ashis Ray, to open an investigation into the controversial Rafale deal in both France and in India.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:

Philippin indicates that the investigation in France would be directed at the 22 million Euros that French companies Dassault and Thales allegedly paid, according to complete or partial documentary evidence in possession of Mediapart, to their Indian agent Sushen Gupta. A substantial part of the money, Mediapart has claimed, were routed through shell companies in Singapore and Mauritius.

While French law allows companies to engage foreign agents, and Guptas of India have been representing various foreign companies for over three generations, French laws do not allow such agents to pay bribes to officials. While French companies can feign ignorance of how the money was spent by the agent, a formal investigation into the money trail and the justification for the initial payments made could be investigated.

In India, on the other hand, investigators would need to find out how sensitive and classified documents from the Ministry of Defence came into the possession of the agent. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Philippin points out, had admitted the recovery of the Rafale-related documents from the possession of Gupta. But although the ED has had the documents for the last three years, there does not seem to be any ‘visible evidence’ that it has taken any action against Gupta for violation of the Official Secrets Act.

Mediapart, Philippin tells Ray, had sought a response from ED, India’s Ministry of Defence, Dassault as well as the French government—but received no response.

These are the details which emerge from the interview:

1. Narendra Modi's decision to replace HAL with Anil Ambani's Reliance as off-set partner for the Rafale deal was a fait accompli and non-negotiable.

2. Rafale fighter jet's French manufacturer Dassault's Indian agent Sushen Gupta was paid one million Euros to give 50 models of the aircraft as gifts to Indian officials.

3. At an audit by French authorities Dassault could not explain the payment of one million Euros to Gupta or produce evidence or photographs of the replicas.

4. French law permits companies to pay overseas agents for services rendered, but forbids the agent to pay bribes.

5. India's Enforcement Directorate in its May 2019 charge sheet against Sushen Gupta in the Augusta Westland case cited classified defence ministry documents relating to the Indian Negotiating Team's calculations, position and tactics regarding the Rafale deal recovered from Gupta.

6. The Enforcement Directorate or Government of India does not appear to have charged Gupta for possession of the top secret documents despite having documentary proof of this.

7. The Modi government overruled the Indian Negotiating Team and surrendered to the French side by agreeing to drop crucial anti-corruption clauses meant to protect India in the Rafale contract.

8. The Modi Government overruled the Indian Negotiating Team, which had fixed the fair buying price for 36 Rafale jets at five billion Euros, and gave in to pressure from Dassault by agreeing to pay 7.8 billion Euros.

9. Mediapart claims to have full or partial documentary evidence that 22 million Euros have been paid to Sushen Gupta since 2014 by Dassault and Thales, a supplier of vital components in Rafale.

10. Mediapart maintains it has provided enough evidence in its exposes to open or re-open investigation into alleged corruption in the Rafale deal both in France and India and asserts it is totally possible to do so in France.