CBI, ED asked to probe Embraer aircraft deal

NEW DELHI: Defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday asked the CBI to probe the bribery allegations — reported in a Brazilian paper last week — in the $208

Published on: Sep 15, 2016, 10:52:03 IST

By HT Correspondent

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NEW DELHI: Defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday asked the CBI to probe the bribery allegations — reported in a Brazilian paper last week — in the $208 million deal for three Embraer-145 planes, the platform for India’s air-borne early warning and control (AWE&C) systems project.

The government also roped in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to track down a possible money trail in the case. The US is already investigating whether the Brazilian aircraft maker paid bribes to bag contracts abroad and if that influenced deals it closed with India and Saudi Arabia.

India ordered the parallel investigation four days after it set a 15-day deadline for Embraer to submit a report on the graft charges. The handing over of the case to the CBI indicates the possibility of criminality, defence ministry sources said. The UPA government inked the deal for the planes in 2008 as part of a Defence Research and Development Organisation programme to scale up the Indian Air Force’s AWE&C capabilities. The AEW&C systems developed by the DRDO are being installed on the planes.

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