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NEW DELHI: Holding that Brazilian aviation major Embraer cannot escape Indian laws just because it has now arrived at a settlement with US authorities, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said on Tuesday that CBI will continue with its probe into allegations of kickbacks+ being paid by the company to swing a $208 million deal with India in 2008.
Parrikar, however, made it clear that the government's new blacklisting policy to be out next month will strike a much-required balance between punishing corruption and ensuring national security requirements are not compromised.
This easing of the blacklisting norms, with graded punishments commensurate with the wrong-doing committed, will be a marked departure from the indiscriminate blanket bans imposed during the UPA regime, which often adversely impacted military modernization, as earlier reported by TOI.
The CBI last week registered an FIR against UK-based arms dealer, Vipin Khanna, for allegedly taking kickbacks worth over $5.70 million from Embraer in 2008, under which India bought three Embraer-145 aircraft for their conversion into AEW&C (airborne early-warning and control systems) planes in a DRDO project.
Asked about Embraer agreeing to pay $205.5 million+ to US and Brazilian authorities to settle their anti-corruption probe into deals with four countries, including India, Parrikar said, "The US laws, where criminal processes can be compounded (settlement through payment of fines), are different from Indian laws. Our CBI probe will go by Indian laws on corruption, kickbacks, whatever it is, subject to evidence."
But the three AEW&C aircraft, which are now in their final stages of being tested before delivery to the IAF, will not be grounded. "As far as the platforms are concerned, I can assure you that national requirement is a priority. In fact, I am coming out with the proposals or guidelines for blacklisting and the next defence acquisitions council will finalise them," said Parrikar.
"Anyone doing criminal activity or paying kickbacks should normally be punished with a ban. But deciding the extent of the ban should be based on what the requirements of national security are. Giving exemption should also be based on national security," he said.
"If I have a platform where a company has been banned, I cannot stop operating the platform because the company which is now blacklisted had supplied me the platform. Whose loss is it? National interest has to be seen. It cannot be a knee-jerk reaction...Proper decision-making is required," he added.
Under the new liberalised blacklisting norms, procurement of spares for platforms and equipment already purchased from a blacklisted company will be allowed. Moreover, companies already blacklisted will now also be able to appeal to the government for a review based on merits of a case.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ays-Manohar-Parrikar/articleshow/55052335.cms
