CBI set to reopen bribery case against Sudhir Choudhrie

However, with fresh charges of bribery surfacing against him, the agency plans to approach the court for a re-investigation which, it claims, will help unearth Choudhrie’s links in India.

The CBI’s current probe into the contract will likely be centred around Rs 5,000 crore worth of orders received by Rolls Royce.

It is suspected that a hefty commission running into several crores was allegedly paid by the London-based company to its intermediaries to bag defence deals. The agency also suspects that Choudhrie may have played a key role in lobbying for the UK firm.

The British major has already admitted to hiring a private firm as a ‘commercial advisor’ for deals in India, which was paid a certain percentage of the contract value.

The ‘advisor’ has been identified as Aashmore Private Limited company, led by Singapore-based Ashok Patni.

The agency said that it has sought a detailed report from the Interpol on the role of Patni as well as that of Choudhrie.

While temporarily suspending all contracts with the engine manufacturer, the Defence Ministry, in its communication to the CBI, is also learnt to have expressed concern over the ongoing anti-corruption investigation into the company by the UK Serious Frauds Office (SFO) as well as red flags raised by HAL, which has conducted an internal probe after receiving several complaints.

CBI officials said Choudhrie’s name cropped up in the Rolls Royce case after he and his son were questioned by the SFO in UK last month.

The CBI, which started a probe against Choudhrie for his alleged involvement in defence deals in 2007, has claimed there were several financial transactions in his name that could not be explained.

The agency had then referred the matter to Enforcement Directorate (ED).

“While the earlier case against Choudhrie and his firm could not be proved, it had clearly established that money was paid to him and his firm, MITCO,” a CBI official said, explaining the ground to reopen the case.