Brigadier son studying in US got a cheque from Denel’s agent

The probe into alleged pay-offs by South African firm Denel in the supply of anti-material (bunker buster) rifles has taken a new twist...

The probe into alleged pay-offs by South African firm Denel in the supply of anti-material (bunker buster) rifles has taken a new twist with the CBI investigating a the kin of a senior Army official for having reportedly received payments from the agent, Varas Associates.

The latest evidence is in the form of financial transactions which the CBI received in response to Letter Rogatories sent to UK and the Isle of Mann, where Varas Associates is located. The details of remittances show that besides the 12.75 % commission paid by Denel to Varas Associates (the FIR mentions payments totaling $35,60,395 being paid for the deal), a small amount was also paid by Varas into the US account of the son of an Army Brigadier, who was posted in the Weapons Equipment Directorate.

The payment in question is $5,062 deposited by Varas in April 2004 into a bank account in California, where the boy was then studying.

Story continues below this ad

The amount may be small but officials say the payment to the Brigadier’s son indicates that pay-offs in the Denel case ran much deeper and that MoD and Army officials could have shared the commissions, too.

CBI officials said that while the Brigadier is no longer alive, his son has been questioned in New Delhi and he claimed he knew nothing about the origin of the payment.

Officials probing the Denel case say that while their June 2005 FIR was filed against “unknown officials” of the Ministry of Defence, Denel and Varas Associates, the involvement of defence agent Vipin Khanna in brokering the deal is evident and the agency informed the Supreme Court about his role during arguments in his passport case.

CBI investigators say they are “very close” to filing a chargesheet in the Denel case, which was registered by the agency after a South African newspaper reported that Rs 20 crore was paid for confidential MoD papers.

Following allegations of corruption, the Government had blacklisted Denel.