Bofors case was
come in the light on March 1986 in the premiership of V P Singh.
Because of that Congress government of Rajiv Gandhi lost was
changed.
CBI has to produce
documentary evidence pertaining to the Quattrocchi before the
Delhi Court where the first FIR had been filed by the CBI in the year
1999.
CBI is also
answerable to Supreme Court.
Rs 250 crore spent
in chasing the Rs 64 crore
Above fact is
related to Bofors scandal in which no one comes out unblemished.
Result is following:
* Former minister
of state Margaret Alva helped Quottrochhi to fly from India 29-30,
2003, by keeping File of CBI till August 16.
*
As reported in
July 17, 2003:
Mr Quattrocchi was facing an extradition trial in Malaysia. However,
after the CBI’s appeal was quashed by the lower court and the high
court in Kuala Lumpur, the Italian businessman left that country
saying that he would be back after finishing his work.
* CBI officers who
were in Switzerland heard the victory of Congress in 2004.
They came back keeping legs on their heads. Bofors
documents have been thrown in the dust bin because Mr.Q beloved of
Gandhi Family said:” 'I believe it would be in interest of justice
and India's reputation if this case against me is brought to an
end.'
* As reported on
Jan 16, 2006: A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice Y K
Sabharwal directed that the government should take steps to maintain
the status quo and ensure that the frozen accounts are not unlocked.
The court added that if they had been unlocked, the government
should ensure that no money is withdrawn from the account.
'It is in the interest of the nation,' the court said.
But on the
direction of Law minister as requested by B Datta, additional
solicitor general of
India,
the high court in Londonordered to defreeze Quattrocchi's two
British bank accounts. And thus he drew Rs 21 crore from the bank
with the help of UPA Government. Why two London bank accounts of the
Italian businessman, key accused in the Bofors pay-offs case, were
defrozen at CBI's behest.
London,
Switzerland
& Italy focal point for Gandhis
LONDON:
Sonia Gandhi
studied in
London.
Her one sister is residing in London. Rahul was also at London
before coming in politicsc, brother of Congress MLA from Punjab, is
a London-based businessman. He is Managing Director of DSSI Group.
They are relatives of Natwar Singh and involved in Food for Oil
scandal. News report dated April 18, 2006: ED sources said they were
seeking legal opinion on the action against Aditya Khanna, who had
flied to the UK, despite a Letter of Cancellation issued against his
passport.
Italian
businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi is a good friend of Gandhi
family.Quattrocchi received bofors kickbacks through Myles Stott of
AES based in London.
“The statement of
Myles T Stott that the amount Bofors had paid AE Services was
related to the agreement of sale of guns to India; (b) and the trail
of subsequent transfers of the money to companies owned by
Quattrocchi-from AE Services to Colbar Investments to Wetelsen
Overseas. At page 7 of its judgment, the Swiss Court then noted.
Mr. Stott had link
with AWB ltd. He was then head of international sales and marketing
for this company. This is Australian Wheat Export Monopoly Company
having also office in DelhiIndia. Present Indian Govt. imported
wheat through this company. Why? Volcker named this company in Oil
for Food Scam. AWB ltd was the biggest exporter of Humanitarian
goods to Iraq. Volcker also named ‘Natwar’ ‘Bhimsen’ and ‘congress.
As reported by
Craig Rowley on January 24, 2006: Mr. Stott negotiated the physical
payment of A$200 million of gold owned by Iraqi dictator Saddam
Hussein to the Australian government against future deliveries of
wheat.
More
details:www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=132&page=33
It's been a case
that has shadowed every government at the Centre in the last 20
years. Now, the Bofors ghost, which reared its ugly head last year
has again returned to haunt the Manmohan Singh Government.
The agency said it
is coordinating with the external affairs ministry to ensure that
Quattrocchi is not released by the authorities there and is
eventually extradited to India to stand trial in the Bofors payoff
case.
Quattrocchi is an
Italian businessman accused of involvement in the Rs 6.4 million
Bofors Scandal, the 1980s bribery scandal involving the Swedish arms
manufacturer Bofors and prominent Indian politicians, which led to
the defeat of the Congress Party in the elections 1989.
Italian
businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi has been detained at the Iguazu
International airport in Argentina.
He was arrested on Feb 6 by the Interpol on the basis of an Interpol
Red Corner Notice A-44/2/1997 issued against him in 1997.
Quattrocchi was
detained while in transit to Buenos Aires.
Interpol says it's unit in Argentina is in touch with Delhi on the
Quattrocchi issue.
"Legal formalities as required under Argentine Extradition Act are
being fulfilled on the basis of reciprocity as there is no treaty
extradition treaty between India and Argentina," the statement of
CBI said.
The agency said after observing mandatory legal and diplomatic
formalities, extradition request to extradite Quattrocchi shall be
presented through diplomatic channel to the designated Argentine
court.
"It is mandatory that the formal extradition request is presented
within 30 days of the detention of Quattrocchi," it said.
CBI Director, Vijayshankar has said that all evidence has to be
translated in Spanish before putting in a formal extradition request
to Argentina.
The Ministry of External Affairs will verify the facts pertaining to
the arrest earlier this month of Ottavio Quattrocchi in Argentina
and, once confirmed, India will place a request for extradition of
the Italian businessman, who is wanted for his alleged role as the
conduit in the Rs. 640 million Bofors gun scam, reliable sources
told IANS Friday night.
Sources have told
CNN-IBN that the Prime Minister personally knew of the Quattrochhi's
preventive arrest and that he had held a meeting with top
intelligence officials, the Law Minister and the Home Minister a few
days back to discuss the issue.
Former director of CBI, Uma Shankar Mishra, who was elected to the
Interpol, has been working alongside the present CBI director,
Vijayshankar, to detain Quattrocchi. Mishra was the one who has been
putting pressure on the Interpol to detain the businessman.
The Oppostion BJP
on Friday has said the detention of Italian businessman Ottavio
Quattrochi, wanted in the Bofors case, in Argentina, "has exposed"
the UPA Government.
The BJP has
alleged that the UPA sided with Quattrocchi and tried to protect
him.
BJP spokesperson
Prakash Javadekar said, "We have all the documentary evidence
against Quattrocchi with us. The case must be reopened."
He added that that
it was the BJP which revived the case. "The Congress wanted to bury
the case and give Quattrocchi a clean chit."
Javadekar pointed
out that the party's Parliamentary leaders will take a decision on
the issue in Parliament on February 26. He said that the Government
must ensure Quattrocchi's extradition.
Congress
spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi says in what appears to be a face
saving exercise, "We don't even know what the matter relates to.
It's a legal process and has to be worked out according to legal
procedures. The Congress party has nothing to do with it."
"His detention has
exposed the UPA government which sided with him and tried to protect
him. Now, a government is required to tell the nation why it allowed
defreezing of Quattrochi's accounts abroad," BJP Chief Rajnath Singh
was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.
He said BJP would
seek an explanation in Parliament from the Government as to why
defreezing of Quattrocchi's London bank accounts were allowed as the
CBI plans to seek his extradition after his detention in Argentina.
"The Government is
also answerable to the nation as to where the money went from his
accounts after they were defrozen. An investigation has to be
launched to trace it," Rajnath Singh was further quoted as saying.
More than a year
after Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi withdrew money,
alleged to be a portion of the kickback from the howitzer deal, from
a London bank account within days of it being defreezed, the Supreme
Court on Monday sought the CBI's response to a plea for retrieval of
the amount.
On being informed by petitioner Ajay Agrawal about the defreezing of
two accounts of Quattrocchi on January 16 last year, the court had
directed CBI to take steps to prevent the money from being withdrawn
from the accounts. In a fresh application, Agrawal accused CBI of
going soft on the Italian businessman.