On Thursday, the French Official Journal published two declassification views that were critical of corruption in selling Rafales to India. These opinions were provided by the French National Defense Secret Commission (CSDN). The first involves confidential defence documents that were obtained from the Ministry of the Armed Forces, and the second involves sensitive defence materials that were obtained from the Quai d’Orsay. They were taken during a search of the Dassault Aviation headquarters in Saint-Cloud that the magistrates had undertaken in February of 2022.
In its first opinion, the CSDN considers that the content of the documents of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, “of a purely technical nature, is without possible relation to the field of judicial information as set out in detail in the request” of the magistrates. In its second opinion, the commission writes that the content of the Quai d’Orsay documents “is without possible relation to the field of judicial information as set out in detail in the request”.
Following the presentation of these two unfavourable decisions, the total number of declassification refusals in the ongoing judicial investigation into the 2016 sale of 36 Rafale aeroplanes to India for 7.7 billion euros has increased to five. It was founded in 2021 to look into “active and passive corruption, influence peddling, and misappropriation.”
Since roughly ten years ago, all of the relevant ministries have consistently followed the recommendations provided by the CSDN. The CSDN has rendered over 370 opinions since the organisation was established in 1998. (favourable, partially favourable and unfavourable).
Corruption in Rafale sales to India
In September 2016, India placed a deal with Dassault Aviation for 36 Rafale aircraft worth a total of eight billion euros. Although France has had difficulty selling vintage planes in the past, this purchase is being hailed as the deal of the century.
However, according to Yann Philippin, a journalist at Mediapart and a guest of Jacques Monin in Secrets d’info, Dassault would have paid Sushen Mohan Gupta millions of euros in covert commissions spread out over the course of several years in order to secure this transaction.
According to Mediapart, France would have also won the elimination of an anti-corruption clause that, in the event that it was verified that bribery payments were made, would have made it possible to terminate the contract for the sale of the Rafale aircraft.
The reporter was granted access to a court file that included emails, computer files, handwritten notes, and witness statements. Investigations have yet to be started in either India or France. According to Yann Philippin of Mediapart, “The French Anti-Corruption Agency decided to end the investigation and close the case. Dassault is in a position to say, without equivocation, that the agency did not uncover any instances of malfeasance.”
