There was a stunned silence on Tuesday morning from all stakeholders to the revelation that >hundreds of crores were paid to the firms controlled by alleged arms dealer Sudhir Choudhrie by British and Russian defence companies.
While the Defence Ministry and the Russian Embassy were yet to respond to the charges, Rolls-Royce refused to comment on the specific issue, but said in a statement that they “have zero tolerance to bribery and corruption” and cannot comment on ongoing investigation.
Secret documents accessed by the BBC and The Guardian , and shared exclusively with The Hindu reveal detail payment of millions of dollars by several foreign defence companies to alleged Indian arms dealer Sudhir Choudhrie and his family.
“Concerns about bribery and corruption involving intermediaries remain subject to investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and other authorities. We are fully co-operating with the authorities and we cannot comment on ongoing investigation,” a Rolls-Royce spokesperson said in the statement.
It is for the SFO or other investigating authorities, not Rolls-Royce, to comment upon the scope and nature of the allegations they are investigating, the spokesperson said, adding, “Our decision not to comment on any allegation or claim put to us is not an admission or confirmation.”
The Defence Ministry has refused to comment so far but officials said that Mr. Chaudhari has been named in several deals in the past and the CBI is already investigating them.
The documents show details of remittance of almost €100 million (approx Rs. 730 crore) in just 12 months by Russian arms firms into accounts of companies controlled by Mr. Choudhrie, his family and close associates; and about £10 million paid by Rolls-Royce to firms linked to him.
