The Bofors scam is back to haunt the Centre.

This time, it is about the inflated expense account the Centre had produced in Tis Hazari courts a month back to arrange an escape route for Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi in the `64-crore gun deal scam. The CBI had advanced the same argument of wasteful expenses and cited the same amount of `250 cr before the Delhi High Court in 2005 to bail out the Hinduja brothers as well.

The CBI stuck to the argument that Bofors case was a huge drain on the public exchequer with `250 crore already spent on its investigation since January 22, 1990, when the FIR was filed. But documents accessed under the Right to Information Act by the petitioner, advocate Ajay Agarwal, reveal that the figure was a façade as the real expenses incurred by the agency were just over `5 crore.

The fresh disclosure has shown that superior courts, both the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court, besides the trial court, were deceived to accept the figure of `250 crore as one of the main grounds to drop further proceedings, as was evident by the trial court order of March 4, 2011, when the CBI plea to discharge Quattrocchi was allowed.

The Tis Hazari court also asked the CBI whether there was any account of how much money had been spent in the case.

“We have not moved an inch in the last 25 years. Do we have any account of how much money is being spent on this case? Is this figure of Rs. 250 crore, as mentioned by the Delhi High Court, correct? Can you give a rough figure?”
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The court also observed that all the statements of the Bofors case were recorded in 1996-97 when the BJP-led NDA was in power.

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Another report from Indian Express, titled CIC to CBI: How long should one wait to get info in Bofors case?:
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For how long should a citizen wait for information in a case which is pending for more than 23 years, Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra today asked while slamming CBI for withholding information in the Bofors pay-offs scam.
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“For how long should a case be pending or the prosecution be continuing after which a resident of India can exercise the Right to Information? This case has been pending for last 23 years. By your (CBI) admission you are saying that you want to withdraw the case because you are not able to get that man,” Mishra said.

March 24 – 1986 – The day Bofors agreement was signed After Approval of defense minister and PM – and RajivG was both at that time
Agmt signed b/w Q & Bofors was done on Nov 15 1985 – valid till Apr 1 1986, – Final agmt signed on Mar24 ’86 – 3% commissin
Mr. Quattrocchi remained in India from 28-2-1965 to 29-7-1993, except for a brief interval from 4-3-1966 to 12-6-1968
Mr Q was a Chartered Accountant by profession – for Snamprogetti – Mr.Q had no exp of guns, gun-systems or any related defenseequipments
3% commision was paid into AE services a/c on Sep 03 1986 A/c No. 18051-53 at Nordfinanz Bank, Zurich. A/c opnd 15 days earlier only
out of 7.12 MN USD in Zurich account 7 MN was trfrd on Sep 16 1986 to Account No.254.561.60W in Panama
while opening the Account of ColbarInvestments Ltd. Inc. with the UBS Geneva Q gave a fake address
Investigations in Guernsey ) also revealed that theentire money, i.e. US $ 9.2 million, was further channeled to other A/cs in 10 days
http://bit.ly/hoTYzW – The 98 Page Appellate Order on #bofors commission – traces the entire Money trail – PDF file judgement on 31/12/2010

…The BJP has taken up the secret Indian Swiss bank money issue. Does it seriously contemplate recovering the money? Or is it just a poll gimmick?

…Are they political opportunists? Do they or don’t they really intend to deliver results on the Swiss money? If the BJP is serious about fighting corruption there is no dearth of issues. Take one glaring example.

On August 15, 2006 this scribe wrote: “Dr. Yevgeniya Albats is a Soviet journalist who …was appointed as member of the official KGB Commission set up by President Yeltsin in 1991. She had full access to secret files of the KGB. She authored a book, The State within a State: KGB and Its Hold on Russia …. Dr. Albats disclosed in her book that KGB chief Victor Chebrikov in December 1985 had sought in writing from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), ‘authorization to make payments in US dollars to the family members of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, namely Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Ms Paola Maino, mother of Sonia Gandhi.’ CPSU payments were authorized by a resolution, CPSU/CC/No 11228/3 dated 20/12/1985; and endorsed by the USSR Council of Ministers in Directive No. 2633/Rs dated 20/12/1985. These payments had been coming since 1971, as payments received by Sonia Gandhi’s family, and ‘have been audited in CPSU/CC resolution No. 11187/22 OP dated 10/12/1984.’

“In 1992 the media confronted the Russian government with the Albats disclosure. The Russian government confirmed the veracity of the disclosure and defended it as necessary for ‘Soviet ideological interest’. The Hindu of July 4, 1992 carried this report….In November 1991 the respected Swiss magazine, Schweitzer Illustrate, published a report alleging that Rajiv Gandhi had 2.5 billion Swiss francs, equivalent roughly to two billion US dollars, in numbered Swiss bank accounts….Surely, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi owes herself and the nation an emphatic and effective rebuttal of the Albats charges?”

On November 8 2006 I again wrote: “…Until now there has been only deafening silence from Mrs. Gandhi and the Congress party….If the Albats allegation published in a reputed research book is false, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi should promptly deny it. Otherwise, her silence could be perceived as assent.”

The government remained silent. But so did all the opposition parties! Why? Are the opposition leaders themselves also vulnerable and compelled to maintain discreet silence? Draw your own conclusions.