The Central Bureau of Investigation on October 18 said it would look into the facts and circumstances pertaining to the Bofors case, as disclosed by private investigator Michael Hershman in an interview with Republic TV earlier this week.
“Agency has learnt about the matter pertaining to Bofors aired on a certain TV channel, containing the interview of Mr. Hershman. Facts and circumstances as mentioned in the interview will be looked into as per due process by the CBI,” said the agency’s spokesperson Abhishek Dayal.
Arms and the middleman
Mr. Hershman, during the interview, said he was ready to testify and assist the Indian agencies in the Bofors case. Mr. Hershman said V.P. Singh, then Finance Minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government, had hired him in 1986 to probe certain issues involving suspected violations of currency control laws by about a dozen wealthy Indians. Back then, Mr. Hershman ran Fairfax Group, a private investigation firm.
Mr. Hershman claimed that during his probe he had got certain leads indicating that Bofors had paid bribes through banks for a defence deal with India. He also claimed that that twice he was offered bribes to stop the probe. He said he also received threat to his life.