TALWAR MAY SPILL THE BEANS ON TOP UPA LEADER

Deepak Talwar was close to several UPA leaders. He is alleged to have used funds from Airbus to construct a five-star hotel in Delhi.

The links of Deepak Talwar and Rajiv Saxena with top UPA politicians are being probed on a war footing by the Enforcement Directorate. The two middlemen were involved in various allegedly corrupt deals involving top UPA politicians. Both men were extradited from the UAE recently in a swift and seamless operation by the Narendra Modi government. Talwar, one of the two, however, is also being probed for his suspicious links with aircraft manufacturer Airbus and its subsidiaries, from one of which he allegedly received inexplicable funds in two tranches; the name of a senior UPA leader has also surfaced in this context.

In fact, the ED is also probing Talwar’s links to various UPA leaders, apart from his role as a middleman in negotiating unfair deals and bargains on behalf of foreign airlines with Air India and the Indian government.

Sources who have interrogated him in the past said Talwar is suave and sophisticated. He started his career as a customs clearing agent in Mumbai port. They describe him as a sharp person and glib talker, who over a over a couple of decades built a strong network with politicians and businessmen around the world.

At one point of time he also started a duty free business at the Delhi airport, where he established links with influential people. Subsequently, he started a company which helped foreign companies get Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approvals for investment in India. He worked for an Indian windmill energy company, which required foreign investments. This windmill energy company has one of the biggest NPAS today. He also worked for a foreign cab company to ensure that they got clearance from FIPB to operate in India. He also acted as a middleman for a Spanish locomotive manufacturer, and pushed for its trials in India.

Sources said that it was during an Income Tax raid at the windmill company’s premises that his links and his reach were first revealed. The company had made certain payments to him which it could not explain to the I-T sleuths. Talwar has been on the radar of Income Tax and other agencies since then.

With the opening up of the Indian skies and aviation industry to foreign players, Talwar became a management representative for foreign airlines to the UPA government. A UPA minister was very close to him and a long-time friend, and is said to have helped him strike several deals. Due to this support, Talwar interacted with some foreign airlines based in West Asia, including Emirates, Air Arabia and Qatar Airways, and also with wealthy sheikhs