M A I N   N E W S

Swedes want Ardbo to testify
By Alfred De Tavares

STOCKHOLM, Oct 16 — India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has received support from some Swedish parliamentarians and the media in its efforts to get Martin Ardbo, the former chief executive of the Swedish arms firm AB Bofors, to appear before an Indian court and testify on charges of bribery in a 1986 gun deal with India.

The response from some members in the Swedish Riksdag (Parliament) and in the media to the CBI approaching Interpol for help in the matter has so far been fairly positive.

“The Bofors affair is the worst bribes scandal that has ever taken place and it would be incredible if some of the politicians, past and present, dead and alive, have not been actively involved in it,” Mr Birger Schlaugh, the Greens MP, told India Abroad News Service.

“That, and nothing else, is the root cause why the Swedish government refuses to make Martin Ardbo available to Indian authorities. The Social Democrats, contrary to their earlier public pledges, simply do not wish to wash their dirty laundry — apparently neither publicly, nor privately and not at all properly,” Mr Schlaugh added.

Johan Lonroth, a Member of Parliament representing Sweden’s Left (former Communist) Party, is even more forceful than Mr Schlaugh.

“Martin Ardbo should be forced to stand trial in India unequivocally. In the first case Ardbo should have made himself available voluntarily. He, after all, does maintain that he is innocent. Now that he has been granted an opportunity to prove his innocence, he should avail of it without more fuss and spare everyone else concerned much embarrassment and trouble,” Mr Lonroth said.

AB Bofors secured the 1986 contract, worth $ 1.4 billion then, to supply field guns to the Indian Army by allegedly bribing middlemen. Kickbacks worth Rs 650 million were suspected to have been paid out to several people.

According to the CBI list of charges, those who were paid the alleged bribes by AB Bofors included former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, Dubai-based Indian businessman Win Chadha, Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrochhi and former Indian defence secretary S.K. Bhatnagar.

“If Sweden wishes, in the future, to demand something from Interpol, then it must have a sound argument why it refuses to cooperate with them itself,” said Mr Schlaugh, and in a letter to Sweden’s Justice Minister Thomas Bodstrom asked: “Does the Swedish government intend to help the Interpol in their efforts to bring Martin Ardbo before an Indian court of justice?”

“To have a good working collaboration with Interpol is of vital interest, but many other factors also have to be considered,” Mr Bodstrom told IANS. “It depends, among other factors, upon what punishment he (Ardbo) risks in India. However, in this case I cannot give an opinion just now. I am not adequately into it,” the minister added.

When told that Ardbo could face up to seven years’ imprisonment in India, Mr Bodstrom said: “Is it? Well I am not quite aware of it. But there must exist an international ‘praxis’, custom, in such cases. This is quite a complex issue.”

The national press, radio and television media also appear unanimous about Mr Ardbo playing the role demanded by the Indian investigators and courts. However, not all of them are pressing that he be forced to present himself in India but rather be examined, and if found necessary, prosecuted and punished in Sweden.

Martin Ardbo, who had repeatedly said he would not submit himself to Indian courts, refused to comment on the statements by the two parliamentarians. “I have nothing to say about this at all. I fail to see how this can be of any interest to anyone.” — IANS