CBI files closure report in Barak missile deal

CBI today filed a closure report in a seven-year-old case of alleged bribery in the Rs.1,150 crore Barak missile deal in which former Defence Minister George Fernandes and the then Naval Chief Admiral Sushil Kumar were accused.
The agency filed a closure report before Special CBI court in Patiala House saying replies received from foreign countries do not substantiate the allegation of kickbacks levelled against the state-run company Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), former Samata Party officials Jaya Jaitley and RK Jain, Fernandes and Kumar.
CBI sources said judicial requests were sent to the United Kingdom, UAE, Mauritius, Germany and Israel seeking details of financial transactions and other details of accused persons involved in the case.

They said Israel, in its reply to Letter Rogatory, denied making any payments to clinch the deal. The country also refused to give any further details citing confidentiality.
The sources said replies from other countries also did not corroborate allegations levelled against IAI and other accused mentioned in the FIR.
During the probe here, CBI said it did not find any evidence on the allegations levelled during the sting operation carried out by Tehelka.
It was alleged that Fernandes' associate Jaya Jaitley and others had received a bribe of Rs two crore in the Rs 1,150 crore Barak missiles deal in 2000.

CBI had been pursuing the case from various angles but every investigation hit a hurdle as Israel did not cooperate despite several Letters Rogatory and requests made through diplomatic channels for providing details about certain companies, the sources said.