Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday said he might recommend a CBI probe into the Embraer aircraft deal if it displayed “criminal nature” after the DRDO wrote to the Brazilian company seeking details of the deal involving three EMB 145 aircraft.
“I have directed the DRDO to send a complete report on the deal by Monday. I will study the report first before making any concrete statement on the issue but I can tell you as of now that if it displays criminal nature, I will hand over the case for CBI probe,” Mr. Parrikar told media persons in Vadodara.
He said: “If there were procedural issues, then an internal inquiry will be ordered.”
The deal
India has asked an explanation from the Brazilian aircraft-maker Embraer following media reports of an international investigation into the alleged payment of bribes to secure an aircraft deal in 2008.
A U.S.-Brazil investigation into the Embraer deal, uncovered a bribery case, leading to a deal between the company and DRDO in 2008.
According to Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, Embraer had been under investigation by the United States Justice Department since 2010 “when a contract with the Dominican Republic raised the Americans’ suspicions.”
India had signed a $208-million deal in 2008 for procuring three Emb-145 aircraft.
