Billionaire Hinduja brothers accused of corruption

Corruption charges were filed in Delhi yesterday against three brothers from the billionaire Hinduja family - one of Britain's wealthiest - in connection with one of India's biggest and longest running arms sales scandals, the Bofors affair.

Corruption charges were filed in Delhi yesterday against three brothers from the billionaire Hinduja family - one of Britain's wealthiest - in connection with one of India's biggest and longest running arms sales scandals, the Bofors affair.

Srichand Hinduja and Gopichand Hinduja, both British citizens and based in London, and their brother Prakash Hinduja, an Indian citizen, were accused of corruption at a special court.

The charges relate to a 1986 scandal arising out of a $1.4bn Indian government contract to purchase artillery guns from the Swedish manufacturer Bofors.

N Natarajan, counsel for India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), told reporters: "They got commission from Bofors worth 81 million Swedish kroner [$8.3mat current rates]. They have three or four accounts in which they put the money."

The brothers face up to seven years in jail if a trial goes ahead and they are convicted. A hearing on 20 November will determine whether there is enough evidence to put the brothers on trial. If so India would seek their extradition from Britain. "Since we have an extradition treaty with Britain, if the Hindujas are included among the accused, the rest will follow," Mr Natarajan said.

The Bofors arms scandal erupted in the late 1980s when the late Rajiv Gandhi's government was accused of taking more than 60bn rupees ($3bn) in bribes in return for awarding a contract to the Swedish company. Although Rajiv Gandhi denied any wrongdoing, the opposition seized on the accusations and the furore is believed to have caused the defeat of his party in the subsequent elections.

In the first charges filed by the CBI, Rajiv Gandhi was named as an accused. Charges against him were dropped after his death, but in a hearing a year ago, Ottavio Quattrochi, an Italian businessman thought to be close to the Gandhi family, was accused of receiving more than $7m in kickbacks, while a non-resident Indian businessman, Win Chaddha, was named as the recipient of $27m for the contract.

After being bogged down for many years the investigation and the alleged links to Rajiv Gandhi resurfaced just as his widow, Sonia, took over the leadership of India's opposition Congress party, provoking accusations that the charges were politically motivated.

A spokesman for the Hinduja Group said yesterday that the brothers were surprised by the development but "relieved they are no longer at the mercy of the political pressures that have ruled this case for the past 13 years and that the judiciary will now make the correct decision.

"They are law-abiding persons and, as in the past, they shall abide by the legal process. There has been enough trial by the press in this matter, it is time for the law to take its course."

A source close to the family added: "The Bofors thing has been used by the BJP [the Bharatiya Janata Party, part of the government coalition] in India as a stick to beat the Congress party. The Hindujas have been dragged into this political vendetta. They are a very high-profile family and the BJP is simply capitalising on this."

Indian investigators based the charges filed yesterday on bank documents that a Swiss court released to India between February 1997 and the end of last year. The Hindujas failed in an appeal to the Swiss courts to have the release of the documents blocked.

* The Hinduja brothers were acquitted of all charges in the Bofors affair in May 2005. Delhi's High Court threw out all charges against Srichand, Gopichand and Prakash Hinduja due to a lack of evidence. Update added 17/10/16