Antony orders CBI probe in Rolls Royce aircraft engine deal

According to reports, the allegations surfaced after Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a public sector company, wrote a letter to the ministry recently claiming that bribes were paid to officials in HAL and other departments concerned to bag contracts. The firm in question has supplied engines for the aircraft being manufactured by the HAL for the Indian Air Force, they said.

The internal investigations by the HAL had prima facie found that the company violated several of the contractual obligations between the period of 2007-11, which had Ashok Nayak as chairman of the public sector company, when these bribes were alleged to have been paid. Following HAL’s letter, Antony ordered further investigations by the CBI, the sources said.

The issue came to light after HAL issued queries to its vendors and suppliers to ensure probity in its transactions as part of its integrity pact to be signed with them, they said. After the development, IAF’s several programmes are expected to get delayed but the defence ministry is strict on that it would not allow any corruption to take place in its procurement process and would take firm action even if it means delays in some of the projects.