CBI will look into claims by detective on Bofors probe

New Delhi: The CBI on Wednesday said it would look into the facts and circumstances related to the Bofors case as revealed by private detective Michael Hershmam in an interview to a private TV news channel. Mr Hershman, the head of US-based private detective firm Fairfax, claimed in TV interviews recently Rajiv Gandhi was “furious” when he had found a Swiss bank account “Mont Blanc”.

Mr Hershman, who was in India last week to address a conference of private detectives, also alleged the Bofors bribe money had been parked in the Swiss account.

“The agency has learnt of the matter pertaining to Bofors aired on certain TV channels containing an interview of Michael Hershman,” CBI spokesman Abhishek Dayal said. “The facts and circumstances as mentioned in the interview will be looked into as per due process by the CBI,” he said.

Mr Hershman was quoted as telling TV channels that Rajiv Gandhi got very upset when “our work was uncovered”. He set up a Supreme Court commission to look into the circumstances surrounding then finance minister V.P. Singh’s hiring of Fairfax. In his interviews, Mr Hershman expressed his willingness to testify and help Indian agencies on the '64-crore Bofors gun payoff scandal but said the effort has to be a credible one.

The CBI recently told a parliamentary panel it was not allowed by the then Central government to approach the Supreme Court against a 2005 Delhi high court order in the Bofors case. The six-member Public Accounts Committee’s subcommittee on defence is looking into the non-compliance of certain aspects of a 1986 CAG report on the Bofors Howitzer gun deal.