NEW DELHI: Resurrecting the Bofors ghost, a recently declassified CIA report said Sweden stopped investigations into alleged bribery in the howitzer deal in 1988 to spare former PM Rajiv Gandhi from embarrassment. "Following the national audit, Swedish police launched a separate investigation into Bofors bribery, which would have been illegal if payments were made to foreign officials. This investigation was terminated in late January 1988, following a trip by Indian PM Gandhi to Stockholm," the report said. The agency concluded the payments had indeed been made by Bofors officials — "either straight to Indian officials, or to middlemen who in turn pa- id off officials — to secure the $1.2 billion sale of howitzers". Media speculation later said Algernon was killed because he threatened to expose the illegal activities of Swedish arms manufacturers.

Source: Times of India January 25, 2017 23:09 UTC