PE registered into Rolls Royce contracts with HAL

Rolls Royce had conducted an internal audit in which it was found that money had been paid to a commercial advisor — Aashmore Private Limited — allegedly as kickbacks to swing the deal in favour of the UK-based company.

The CBI Friday registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) into the Rs 5,000-crore alleged bribery case relating to the supply of aircraft engines to state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) by London-based Rolls Royce. The agency named unknown officials of HAL, owner of Aashmore Private Ltd Ashok Patni and Rolls Royce in the PE, registered after a complaint was received from the Defence Ministry to look into the supply of engines.

According to the PE, the agency would probe alleged payment of bribes or kickbacks in the purchase of spare parts of helicopter engines by the Industrial and Marine Gas Turbine Division of HAL. The allegations surfaced after a letter received by HAL claimed bribes were paid to officials in HAL and other departments concerned with bagging contracts.

Rolls Royce had conducted an internal audit in which it was found that money had been paid to a commercial advisor — Aashmore Private Limited — allegedly as kickbacks to swing the deal in favour of the UK-based company.

The allegation was that Aashmore provided “sales and logistics support, local business expertise and strategic advice” in dealings with HAL in the energy sector. HAL, through its Industrial and Marine Gas Turbine Division, buys and maintains gas turbines for ONGC and GAIL. Rolls Royce has maintained the company “will cooperate fully with the regulatory authorities and…will not tolerate misconduct of any sort”.

Rolls Royce, in a letter to HAL in December last year, had said it had employed a Singapore-based person identified as Ashok Patni and his firm Aashmore Private Limited as the “commercial advisor” in India.

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