The Defence Ministry has suspended business dealings with Pilatus of Switzerland for a year, over allegations of corruption in the supply of Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
“Business dealings with the firm will remain suspended for a period of one year for violation of article 6.6 of the Pre Contract Integrity Pact (PCIP) and ongoing investigation by the CBI, Delhi Police, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax department into corrupt practices, unfair means and illegal activities by Pilatus Aircraft Limited,” the Ministry said in a notification.
IAF operates 75 PC-7 MKII trainer aircraft procured under a $532 million deal with Pilatus in 2012. The Defence Ministry issued a show cause notice to the company in January 2017 following allegations of corruption, after which Pilatus admitted having engaged the services of Offsets India Solutions (OIS), owned by fugitive arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, and paying it at least 1 million Swiss francs in 2010 in connection with the trainer deal.
