SILICON VALLEY, Nov. 27, 2001
Forbes
NRI, Hinduja Group has done just that. And they had
better hope they find a dream team, because the Hinduja
brothers need all the help they can get.
The Indian Central Bureau of Investigation is charging
the three brothers, G. P. Hinduja, P. P. Hinduja,
and S. P. Hinduja, of accepting nearly $8 million
in kickbacks on a $1.4 billion government contract
that was signed with Swedish arms company Bofors in
1986. The brothers deny any wrongdoing. They're sticking
to the same story they've used since accusations first
surfaced in 1987.
It may be an old story, but it hasn't been easily
forgotten. The case goes back to the days when Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi was in office. Although Gandhi
insisted that no middlemen were used in signing the
arms deal, Bofors reportedly paid some $60 million
to Indian "agents," nearly $8 million of
which is thought to have gone to the Hinduja family.
Gandhi was criticized for the way he handled the scandal,
and by some accounts it was partly responsible for
tearing apart his administration. The prime minister
was assassinated several years later, in 1991.
In a preliminary hearing on Nov. 20, the brothers'
lawyers argued that there was insufficient evidence
to proceed with the case. All the same, a judge set
the next hearing for Dec. 5. (1_2001)
