‘In new and startling disclosures on Friday, the plaintiffs’ lawyer in Chicago in the Fairfax case, Mr. Phillip S. Wolin, said that he met Mr. Michael J. Hershman, President of the Fairfax Group, and asked him to write a letter to the Thakkar Natarajan commission “perhaps for a fee”, to settle the controversy about alleged currency violations and that Mr. Hershman demanded as much as $5 million.
Mr. Hershman claimed that he had rejected the offer of money as he considered it “improper”.
While Mr. Wolin linked his offer to “settle the controversy that involved the group of Indian businessmen who are his clients”, Mr. Hershman linked the money offer to a letter to protect the Prime Minister, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, and his family.
According to Mr. Hershman, one of the businessmen on whose behalf Mr. Wolin was making the money offer was Mr. Ali Siddiqui, who runs a New Delhi computer training business with Mr. Adil Shahryar, son of Mr. Mohammad Yunus but Mr. Wolin said that he “didn’t remember Siddiqui’s name.”
The latest revelations in the Fairfax scandal, which is now before the United States District Court in Washington, D.C., are made by both Mr. Hershman and Mr. Wolin in interviews to the Washington Post.
According to Mr. Hershman Mr. Wolin first called him ir August, asking for an appointment’ to discuss hiring him to represent’ as Indian client unrelated to hi: financial investigation.
Mr. Wolin arrived for the meeting on August 24, according to Mr. Hershman with his law partner. While Mr. Khan, who lives in Chicago and Mr. Siddiqui remained in a car outside the office.
Mr, Khan and Mr. Siddiqui joined the meeting, Mr. Hershman said, and Mr. Siddiqui stated he had known Mr. Gandhi for years.
Mr. Hershman, however, also appeared to confirm his demand for $ five million but he argued that he did ask for such a large amount only because he felt “no one would accept such a proposition and I wanted to see how far they would go”.
Mr. Hershman says in court papers, of which PTI obtained an official copy from the court clerk: “previously, in a meeting in Fairfax’s offices in Anhandale, Virginia, on August 24, 1987, plaintiffs’ counsel in this suit sought to purchase from Fairfax the results of its investigation.
“In a subsequent telephone call, plaintiffs’ counsel offered to pay Fairfax $500,000 for a letter stating that during the course of its investigation on behalf of the Indian Finance Ministry, Fairfax found nothing to indicate wrongdoing on the part of the Prime Minister, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, or his family”.
Mr. Hershman said Mr. Wolin had told him earlier that a group of Indian businessmen who said they were acting on Mr. Gandhi’s behalf were interested in making the offer.
Mr. Wolin denied in a telephone interview from Chicago to the Post last Friday that he offered Mr. Hershman half a million dollars to write a letter exonerating Mr. Gandhi or that he told the investigator his clients were acting| for Mr. Gandhi.
“That’s just not true,” he said. He said he met Mr. Hershman and asked him to report to an investigating commission, perhaps for a few, to settle the controversy about alleged currency violations that involved the group of Indian businessmen who are his clients. He said he didn’t remember Siddiqui’s name.
Mr Wolin said he told Mr. Hershman at the meeting: “If one of the reasons you’re not complying (with the commission) because your fee hasn’t been paid, may be something could be arranged”. He said Mr. Hershman demanded five million dollars to write a report.
Mr. Hershman told the Post interviewers he picked $ five million because he felt “no one would accept such a proposition and wanted to see how far they would go”.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 15, 1988
