Presented by: Abhishek Agarwal Himani Tak

Introduction of Bofors scandal

The Bofors scandal was a major corruption scandal in India in the 1980s. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and several others were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB for winning a bid to supply India's 155 mm field howitzer guns. It has been speculated that the scale of the scandal was to the tune of Rs.1500 crore. The scale of the corruption was far worse than any that India had seen before.

Bofors Deal
There was a 1500 crore contract between the Government of India and A.B. Bofors in Sweden on March 24, 1986 for the supply of 410 155mm howitzers field guns.

Key players in Bofors scandal

The Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Former defence secretary S. K. Bhatnagar. Ottavio Quattrocchi was the Italian Businessman. Martin Ardbo Former Bofors chief. The Hindujas Proprietors of the UK-based industrial group.

CONTRADICTIONS

The deal was worth 1500 crore that time. The kickbacks were sighted to be to the tune of Rs 64 crore, but the probe cost Rs 250 crore, in a time span of 18 years. The HC ruled that the prosecution has failed to prove that the Hinduja Brothers Gopichand, Prakashchand and Srichand were linked to the kickbacks in the Bofors deal.

Important dates

March 24, 1986: A Rs. 1500 crore contract between the Indian government and Swedish arms company AB Bofors signed for supply of over 400 howitzers guns. April 16, 1987: Swedish Radio claims Bofors paid kickbacks to top Indian politicians and key defence officials to secure the deal. April 20, 1987: Then Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi assures the Lok Sabha that neither was any middleman involved in the deal nor were the kickbacks paid.. January 22, 1990: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registers complaint in the case. January 26, 1990: Swiss authorities freeze bank accounts of Svenska and AE Services, who allegedly received unauthorised commissions for the deal.

November 7, 1999: Trial court issues arrest warrants against Quattrocchi, while summoning other four accused. July 29, 2000: Trial court issues "open non-bailable arrest warrants" against Martin. December 20, 2000: Quattrocchi arrested in Malaysia July 28, 2003: Acting on India's request, Britain freezes Quattrocchi's bank accounts February 4, 2004: Delhi High Court clears Rajiv Gandhi of his involvement in the scandal. May 31, 2005: Delhi High Court clears Hindujas of their involvement in the scandal. Feb 24, 2007: Fresh warrant of arrest against Quattrocchi obtained from Delhi court Sep 8, 2009: CBI seeks two weeks time from trial court to explore options against Quattrocchi.

Sep 29, 2009: Government tells Supreme Court about decision to withdraw case against Quattrocchi. Dec 14, 2011: A Delhi court allowed the CBI to drop all charges against Quattrochhi and close the case.

April 26,2012: Amitabh Bachchan finally being exonerated from the blame of being involved in the case.

Unethical issues

Taking or giving bribe

The Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and several others were accused of receiving kickbacks from AB Bofors for winning a bid to supply India's 155 mm field howitzer.

Using political Power: The HC Ruled that the prosecution has failed to prove that the hinduja Brothers Gopichand, Prakashchandan & Srichand were linked to the Kickbacks in the Bofors Deal, which led to the ouster of late Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi from Power. The court Later gave Rajiv Gandhi a clean chit.

End of case

The Bofors saga at last got over with the Delhi High Court's verdict quashing the charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating against the Hinduja Brothers and the Bofors company.

THANK YOU