In 2009, seven arms companies, including ST Kinetics, had their deals frozen by the Indian government following allegations that a key Indian defence official had taken bribes.
The other firms which have been banned are Israel Military Industries, Rheinmetall Air Defence, Corporation Defence, Russia , T S Kisan and Co, New Delhi and R K Machine Tools, Ludhiana.
According to reports in India, the defence ministry had approached the companies asking them why they should not be blacklisted but the authroities were unhappy with their answers.
In its response, ST Kinetics, which is the is the land systems and specialty vehicles arm of Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd, said it will seek legal advice and that it intends to "vigorously take appropriate actions to clear its name and defend its reputation."
The company said it had offered the Indian authorities full cooperation since 2009 to clear its name.
In a statement, the company added, "We had even offered on several occasions to open our account books for inspection by the Indian authorities but these offers were never taken up by them. Following the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation's investigation report (First Information Report) made in May 2009 on its corruption investigations; charges were pressed against several companies and individuals for alleged wrongdoings. However, to-date no formal charges have been made by any Indian authorities against ST Kinetics or any of its employees in relation to the alleged blacklisting."
Some say the blacklisting will affect India's available choice of artillery manufacturers.
The country, which is one of the biggest spenders on military equipment, has not boosted its new generation artillery gun capabilities since the 1980s.
ORIGINAL SOURCE
Content used in this not-for-profit blog remain the property of their respective owners.
No comments:
Post a Comment