CBI grounds A-I top brass

The officers are named with others, including the company itself, for allegedly causing a loss of over Rs 100 crore to Air India. The deal involved the purchase of two aircraft on wet lease from M/S Caribjet Inc, a company registered in the Caribbean Islands, in 1994, and then further in 1996, of five aircraft, for another two years.

The CBI’s anti-corruption branch had filed a preliminary inquiry last year in the case. The registration of an FIR today means that the CBI court in Mumbai is informed of the case. Ironically, Gogoi got an extension of term for six months only on last Friday.

The accused have been named for alleged offences under section 120-B with 420 of the IPC (conspiracy to cheat) and various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The loss on account of faulty negotiation in the first agreement is allegedly Rs 3.35 crore, when AI realised that they would have to pay another US $157 per block hour for a second check of technical security every time an aircraft lands. The CBI is inquiring into the lapse in negotiating such an important clause earlier. The other loss is of Rs 103 crore that AI had to pay in damages when the deal went into arbitration at London in 1997. This was related to the second agreement signed between the parties.

The crucial termination clause, which normally protects the buyer from unsatisfactory performance of the supplier, was missing in the contract. Since this clause did not exist, when AI terminated the contract without notice, its stand was compromised and Caribjet benefitted.

While Brijesh Kumar was the MD at the relevant time, Mascarenhas was the commercial director. Gogoi and Mrs Mascarenhas had participated in the negotiation process in different committees that had screened the proposal.