Sanjay Bhandari, Robert Vadra’s aide seeks ‘commission’ for IAF deal he helped ‘fix’ in 2011 with a French firm

New Delhi: Fugitive arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari’s alleged connection with a defence deal inked in India a decade ago has sparked fresh political row.

What blows the lid off corruption & exchange of illicit money in 2011 Mirage upgrade deal is his litigation filed against a French firm Thales. While suing the French firm, he has sought Rs 92 commission from the firm for not getting ‘duly paid’ for facilitating the deal to upgrade Mirage 2000 military jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The revelations have been made by a British newspaper The Telegraph. In his claim, Bhandari has claimed that he was hired by Thales to secure € 2.4 billion pound contract with the UPA government in 2011.

Remember the second term of Congress-led UPA govt was marred by several scams linked to defence dealings. Some high-profile defence contracts like AgustaWestland VVIP chopper & Scorpene deal were hit by bribery scandal and earned huge public wrath too.

The British paper reports that Sanjay Bhandari facilitated meeting of ‘brokers’ with high profile official of UPA government for winning the contract.

According to the newspaper, the fugitive arms dealer has said that he was promised a ‘consultancy fee’ of Rs 167 crore but was given only Rs 97 crore.

Bhandari’s closeness with the ‘power centres’ of UPA regime is no secret and this was the reason why he became a key link in signing the Mirage 2000 deal.

Bhandari was a close associate of Robert Vadra and fled India in 2016 after raids at his residence for allegedly possessing classified information on high-profile defence purchases. He has also sought political asylum in Britain to escape prosecution in India.

The sensational revelations also assume significance because of the plea, seeking his extradition from London, coming up for hearing on February 21.