BANGALORE: The weekend announcement by the Central bureau of Investigation (CBI) that has asked Swiss authorities to freeze the Geneva bank account of Colbar Investments must come as a surprise and shock to all Bofors watchers, Apart from being factual incorrect, the briefing to journal it seems to be a stand by attempt by the country’s premier investigating agency to give an impression that its vigorously pursuing the case and that in the process, has stumbled upon new and valuable information. It also exposes the CBI’s remarkable lack of appreciation of the proceedings in Switzerland and developments within. Finally, it amply underscores what Swiss authorities, including Dr. Pierre Schmid of the Federal Justice Department have been saying for months now that nobody in India seems to be interested in what is going on. It is left to the Swiss authorities to make polite inquiries about India’s intentions,

To begin with, it would be obvious that when more accounts are frozen, all other accounts and assets ranked to it are also frozen if there is an obvious and identifiable connection. Authorities in Zurich froze A.E. Services in 1990 when it became known that money had moved from that account into that of Colbar Investments-Union Bank of Switzerland, Geneva The case was taken over by the authorities investigating in Geneva. It is safe to assume that they did the needful. If the CBI, according to its brief, is not aware of this, it then has to simply pull up its socks.

Assuming for a moment that Colbar and its related entities have not yet been frozen, then the CBI is in bigger trouble. The existence of Colbar and its connection with Bofors became known in November December 1990 when a set of bank documents pertaining to A.E.

The most important thing those documents revealed was that money had left AE. Services for Colbar. Around this time had the CBI make inquiries in Sweden and Switzerland as it Claimed it often did it would have also known that Colbar was leading to Panama. In any case, why did the Indian investigators wait for 18 months to ensure that Colbar and its related accounts be frozen if they have information that this had not been done?

The CBI also said that A.E. Services transferred money to Colbar Investments just before the former was frozen in 1990, At best this is a misrepresentation of facts. The Zurich documents showed that money from A.E. Services has moved to Colbar within days of Bofors paying the commission to the Zurich bank, i.e. in the autumn 1986.

The CBI says the Zurich documents were handed over to them “after an arduous court battle.” It is important to note in passing that there was no court battle worth its name and several people, including investigations in Sweden, had commented on the ease with which these papers had become available, The investigating judge in Zurich Dieter Jan-Correct had decided in May 1990 itself that he would send the documents to India, The appellants in this case the interests behind A.E. Services put up a feeble fight including accusing the Zurich authorities of leaking documents to this correspondent. The matter did reach the Supreme Court but the arguments by the appellant were so weak that the court simply recalled an earlier Judgement to throw the case out and rule in favor of the Government of India. There had also been some problem with A.E. Services not appealing within the stipulated deadline,

The Zurich documents also revealed that the account belonged to one Mubar Melikian based in Jordan.

The CBI should have known in 1990 itself had it kept in serious touch with Swiss authorities that Melikian was a piece of fiction, introduced into the process to  muddy the waters.

Article extracted from this publication >> July 17, 1992