Asia

Rafale Dassault gifted 1 million Euros to Indian middleman?

Rafale Dassault gifted 1 million Euros to Indian middleman? French combat jet manufacturer company Dassault paid one million euros (Rs 8.6 crore) to an Indian middleman after the Rafale fighter jets deal between India-France agreement in 2016, a French magazine Mediapart report has revealed Dassault has not been explain to French anti-corruption agency, Agence Française Anticorruption (AFA), the total amount 508,925 euro was paid under “gifts to clients”, an investigation into Dassault group’s 2017 account books has revealed.

In 2016, India and France signed a Rs. 59,000 crore deal, under which Dassault manufacture 36 Rafale jets for India. Dassault agreed to pay the amount to one of its sub-contractors in India, Defsys Soultion. Defsys provides solutions for defence and aerospace applications and owned by Sushen Gupta. Gupta was earlier arrested for his alleged role in Agusta Westland VVIP Chopper money-laundering scam in March 2019.

In 2017, the AFA was checking whether large companies are following the anti-corruption procedures set out in the French law as Sapin 2.

In 2018, AFA spotted possibilities of corruption in the Rafale deal, AFA held audit of Dassault and found an item of expenditure, under the heading “gifts to clients”, cost 508,925 euros (Rs 4.3 crore). AFA asked Dassault for an explanation. Dassault said that money was used to pay for the manufacturing of 50 large replica models of Rafale jets. However, Dassault was not able to proved to the AFA that the models were actually made. Each model costs 20,357 euros.

Now, this news is surfaced after the report of Mediapart, it revealed that the AFA did not alert the prosecution authorities over the payment, this scandal raises question on the both the justice system and the political authorities.

Asia

Singapore Airlines emergency landing after severe turbulence

A Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 Aircraft lands at Singapore Changi Airport (Incident aircraft not pictured)

One passenger passed on, while dozens of passengers were injured when a Singapore Airlines Boeing B777-300ER aircraft experienced severe turbulence while en route to Singapore from London Heathrow Airport. The aircraft diverted to Bangkok, and landed at 3:45pm Local time on 21 May 2024

The flight landed with 211 Passengers and 11 Crew members at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport. According to the Airport Director Kittipong Kittikachorn at a news conference, there were 7 passengers who suffered serious injuries, while a number of other passengers suffered injuries of varying seriousness.

It was also confirmed that the passenger who passed on was a 73 year old British Man. In a statement from Singapore Airlines ‘ As of 0505 hours Singapore Time on 22 May 2024, 79 passengers and 6 crew members from SQ321 remain in Bangkok’. In another statement, it was reported that a relief flight with 143 passengers and crew members arrived in Singapore at 0505 hours Singapore time on 22 May 2024.

According to aircraft tracking site FlightRadar24, the 16 Year Old Boeing B777-300ER aircraft descended sharply from 37,000 feet to 31,000 feet in a short time. It was also further reported by FlightRadar24 that the descent was commanded by Autopilot, instead of being caused by turbulence.

Shortly afterwards, the pilot declared an emergency by squeaking 7700 on the transponder, indicating an emergency situation onboard the aircraft. The Boeing 777 aircraft then diverted to Bangkok, instead of continuing on its planned journey to Singapore.

In view of this incident, Singapore Airlines mentioned in a statement that they are working with the relevant authorities on the investigation into this incident.

The National Transportation Safety Board, a US Government investigative agency for civil aviation incidents, is sending an accredited representative and 4 technical advisors to support the investigation by Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB). TSIB mentioned in a statement that it ‘is in touch with its Thai counterparts and will be deploying investigators to Bangkok’.

Boeing, the manufacturer of the Boeing B777 aircraft mentioned in a statement that they are in contact with Singapore Airlines regarding the ill-fated flight, and ‘stand ready to support them’.

This situation is developing, more details will be added when they become available.