The CBI has sent a judicial request to the US for information from private investigator Michael Hershman, who expressed willingness to share key details on the Rs 64-crore Bofors bribery scandal of the 1980s, officials said Wednesday.
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Hershman’s Claims and Previous Investigations
Hershman, head of the Fairfax Group, visited India in 2017 to attend a conference of private detectives.
During his stay, he appeared on various platforms and alleged that the then Congress government had derailed the investigation into the scam. He also stated that he was willing to share details with the CBI.
In an interview, he claimed that the Union Finance Ministry appointed him in 1986 to investigate violations of currency control laws and money laundering by Indians abroad, track such assets outside India, some of which were related to the Bofors deal.
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Legal Proceedings and Letters Rogatory
The CBI also approached the Finance Ministry to seek documents related to Hershman’s engagement and any report he may have submitted, but the Ministry could not provide the records from that time to the agency.
The agency noted Hershman’s claims in several interviews and announced in 2017 that it would investigate the matter according to due process.
The need for Letters Rotatory arose because letters and reminders to the US authorities on November 8, 2023, December 21, 2023, May 13, 2024, and August 14, 2024, did not yield any information.
A Letter Rogatory is a written request in which the court of one country asks the court of another country to assist in the investigation or prosecution of a criminal matter.
The requests to the Interpol also did not yield any outcome.
The CBI got a green signal from the Home Ministry on sending the LR to the US on January 14 this year. The agency informed the Special Court, which cleared the LR application of the CBI on February 11.
A special court noted while clearing the CBI’s application for the issuance of the LRs, “We request to conduct an investigation in the United States of America to collect both documentary and oral evidence to ascertain the facts related to the claims made by Michael Hershman in the above-mentioned interview.”
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The Bofors Scam and Court Rulings
The CBI registered the case in 1990, three years after a Swedish radio channel alleged that Bofors paid bribes to politicians and defence officials in India to secure the deal. The allegations caused a major scandal for the Rajiv Gandhi government and rival parties used them to target the Congress.
The scam pertains to allegations of a Rs 64-crore bribe in a Rs 1,437-crore deal with Swedish firm Bofors for the supply of 400 155mm field Howitzers, which played a significant role in India’s victory during the Kargil war.
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The CBI filed chargesheets in 1999 and 2000. In 2004, the Delhi High Court cleared Rajiv Gandhi of all charges, nearly 13 years after the LTTE assassinated him in a suicide attack.
In 2005, the Delhi High Court dismissed all charges against the remaining accused, citing that the CBI failed to prove that Bofors transferred money through Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi to various agents as a bribe to Indian public servants.
The CBI appealed the 2005 decision in 2018, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal due to delays. However, the Court allowed the CBI to present all the points in an appeal filed by advocate Ajay Aggarwal in 2005.