People cannot forget the Bofors scam which resulted in huge controversy during former PM Rajiv Gandhi's time. The multi crore scam led to Rajiv Gandhi losing his Mr.Clean image and also the power. During that time a small girl chanting 'gali gali mein shor hai, Rajiv Gandhi Chor hai' in a Radio program shocked everyone.
After coming to power the then PM VP.Singh and National Front government conducted probe. But with the government ousted from power due to internal bickerings and with the successive Congress governments, the probe led to no where.
Rajiv Gandhi's assassination weakened the probe with the investigation removing Rajiv's name from the accused. Under these circumstances, CIA's declassified files on Bofors exposed Sweden. CIA files stated taht Bofors probe was called off by Sweden after Rajiv Gandhi made visit to the country to save him from embarrassment.
CIA files revealed that Sweden's investigation bribes allegedly paid to its officials was terminated after Rajiv made a visit to Stockholm in 1988.The CIA report is titled "Sweden's Bofors Arms Scandal" and it revealed that the Bofors company bribed middlemen and officials in India to get the Rs 100 billion purchase of 155mm Howitzers.
Report also revealed that Swedish investigators conducted a national audit of Bofors' transactions with India. The audit indicated that as much as 40 million dollars were paid in commissions to middlemen.CIA Report included “almost certainly made payments - either straight to Indian officials, or to middlemen who in turn paid off officials.”
Report ended with the conclusion “Word of the pay-offs leaked, sparking domestic difficulties for Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Stockholm wanted to save Gandhi the troubles caused him by the Swedish leak, and Nobel industries wanted to avoid a bribery indictment. The two sides cooperated, therefore, on a scheme to keep details of the payment secret. Stockholm eventually called off the entire bribery investigation,”
