Abhishek Verma (arms dealer)

Abhishek Verma (born 23 February 1968 in New Delhi, India) is an Indian arms dealer globally known as the 'Lord of War'[1][2][3] and was the main suspect in the Scorpene deal scam but was exonerated in 2015.[4][5]

Abhishek Verma
Born (1968-02-23) 23 February 1968
New Delhi, India
NationalityIndian
OccupationArms dealer
OrganizationShrikant Verma Trust
Known forBeing the prime suspect in Scorpene deal scam
Spouse(s)Anca Verma (married 2006-present)
Parents

Personal life

Verma's father, Shrikant Verma, was a leading journalist before Indira Gandhi brought him into the Indian National Congress party (INC) and made him a member of the 1976 Indian Parliament.[6] From an early age, he[7] was exposed to the media in his public life due to the assistance he provided his father. His mother, Veena Verma, served for fourteen years as a Member of Parliament, and was Vice-President of the INC, responsible for the Mahila Congress.[8]

In 2001, Verma was engaged to marry Evelina Papantoniou, a former Miss Greece and runner-up in the Miss Universe competition.[9] He was also dating Playboy center-fold Simone Cronstrand[10] prior to marrying Anca Neacsu former Miss Romania.[11][12]

Career

Verma was Chairman of Atlas Interactive India Private Limited and signed an agreement with the Indian Government to run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to provide the technology for 'netTV' (television through an internet connection) by 2004.[13] In 2011 Verma took over the reins of Olialia World[14] a multinational FMCG brand[15] as the Chief Evangelist of the group. In 2017 Verma was awarded the contract to construct & own Maldives International airport with an investment of US$500 million,[16] which would be known as Olialia International Airport for 50 years.[17]

In May 2019 a controversy erupted in Maldives when photos of Billionaire Verma were published with President Mohammed Nasheed who is the Chairman of MDP Party and Verma threatened to sue the columnist Bushry associated with the newspaper One Online causing uproar in Maldives.[18][19]

Verma is a witness in 1984 anti-Sikh riots against INC politician Jagdish Tytler. The courts in December 2015 directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to record his testimony as witness.[20] The high risk of being threatened caused Verma to be granted round the clock Delhi Police protection and paramilitary forces.[21]

Verma's proximity to Varun Gandhi, scion of the Nehru–Gandhi family, was made public when explicit photos of Gandhi and Verma with European escorts were released to the news media in 2016 by social activist politician Prashant Bhushan. Gandhi and Verma denied the allegations and issued statements that the photos released by Bhushan were morphed.[22][23] Bhushan's allegations of Gandhi being blackmailed by Verma were also rubbished by Gandhi.[24]

Verma was nominated to contest Lok Sabha parliamentary elections from Congress Party in 1996, which he turned down due to personal reasons.[25]

Abhishek Verma with his wife Anca Verma

Allegations of corruption and imprisonment

In 2006, Verma was accused by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of receiving kickbacks amounting to around US$200 million, through a US$4.5 billion Indian military deal, as a consequence of the Indian government purchasing six Scorpène-class submarines from Thales. The BJP raised this in Parliament, pointing out his proximity to the INC, and alleged he had gained the agency to negotiate the contract with Thales as a result of bribing certain INC politicians.[26][27][28]

Verma and Thales immediately denied all the allegations, and launched a lawsuit against The Outlook Magazine, which had been the first to break the story. He also sued the former BJP Deputy Prime Minister of India, L. K. Advani, for criminal defamation; Advani had campaigned against Verma, demanding the Government charge the latter with corruption.[29]

In 2009 the Delhi High Court exonerated Verma when the CBI published their report into the allegations: they stated that the monies received by him was not a result of the submarine sale.[30] On 7 June 2012, CBI raided Verma's 10 premises and establishments in India after registration of cases of corruption and money laundering.[31][32]

In 2013, Verma was named a suspect in the 2013 Indian helicopter bribery scandal by the Indian Government for massive bribes exceeding Euros 50 million that were paid to Indian politicians including Sonia Gandhi as alleged by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy. Verma is suspected to have been the middleman in the chopper deal and the nexus was exposed by TimesNow TV with their global investigation.[33][34][35]

Due to various other arms deal-related cases that Verma and his wife are alleged to have been involved in, the government attempted to freeze their secret bank accounts in Liechtenstein, which are said to hold over US$500 million; however the Liechtenstein authorities rejected the Indian government's request to open the accounts in 2015.[36][37][38]

When Enforcement Directorate raids were carried out at Verma's residences, among the goods seized were 36 paintings, valued at over US$5 million[39][40] and designer watches worth US$1 million.[41]

In June 2012, Verma was arrested and charged with corruption and money laundering;[42] the trial commenced in December 2015.[43] In April 2017, a CBI special court exonerated Verma and his wife.[44][45]

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References
  1. "Big blow to CBI, Special court discharged Abhishek Verma and Anca Verma in arms dealer case – News Leak Centre". Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  2. "KORRUPTION : Evas Kanonen - DER SPIEGEL 39/2013". spiegel.de. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  3. Lukas Häuptli. "Rüstungsfirmen unter Korruptionsverdacht | NZZ". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  4. "No kickbacks paid in 2005 Scorpene submarine deal: Centre to Delhi High Court". The Economic Times. 14 July 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  5. "'No evidence of kickbacks in Scorpene deal'". Hindustan Times. 16 July 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  6. Magadh – Shrikant Verma : Small Press Distribution. Spdbooks.org (9 January 2013). Retrieved on 11 April 2016.
  7. The world of Abhishek Verma – Indian Express. Archive.indianexpress.com (22 July 2012). Retrieved on 11 April 2016.
  8. Delhi: Former MP Veena Verma's farmhouse burgled. Ndtv.com (3 December 2013). Retrieved on 11 April 2016.
  9. "Abhishek was to marry Evelina Papantoniou former Miss Universe".
  10. "Abhishek dating Simone Cronstrand in the past".
  11. "Anca Verma | National Business Mirror". Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  12. Arms dealer, wife have a jailhouse romance in Tihar | india. Hindustan Times. Retrieved on 11 April 2016.
  13. New Delhi News : Atlas, BSNL tie up for `netTV'. The Hindu (13 June 2004). Retrieved on 11 April 2016.
  14. "Abhishek Verma: From defence to cola, film business". The Economic Times. 6 November 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  15. McGuinness, Damien (2 October 2010). "'Blonde island' plan raises eyebrows". BBC News. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  16. "Maldives awards Olialia India, Abhishek Verma's firm to build international airport". newsleakcentre.com. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  17. "Maldives 'invites' company of an arms dealer to construct international airport". Maldives Times. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  18. Online, One (May 2019). "One Online". One Online.
  19. "Why Did Ex-Prez Nasheed Meet an Indian Arms Dealer ? | The Maldives Report". 2 March 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  20. "Tytler case news".
  21. ANI (29 October 2017). "1984 Anti-Sikh riots: Abhishek Verma receives 'death threats', files writ complaint with Police". Business Standard India. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  22. "Defence leaks? Arms dealer Abhishek Verma rejects allegations against Varun Gandhi - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  23. "EXCLUSIVE: Controversial arms dealer hints at Congress conspiracy against Varun Gandhi". Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  24. "Varun Gandhi dismisses 'honey trapping' allegations : Was never 'blackmailed', never had important defence information - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  25. "Lok Sabha nomination turned down by Abhishek Verma".
  26. Sting Of The Scorpene. Outlookindia.com. Retrieved on 11 April 2016.
  27. Arms dealer Abhishek Verma, wife get bail:IBNLive Videos. Ibnlive.com. Retrieved on 11 April 2016.
  28. Former ‘partners’ accuse each other of fraud in massive defence deals. Sunday-guardian.com. Retrieved on 11 April 2016.
  29. Advani, arms dealer framed me in Scorpene deal: Abhishek Verma – India News – Webindia123.com. News.webindia123.com (24 March 2006). Retrieved on 11 April 2016.
  30. Money received by Abhishek Verma not related to Scorpene deal: CBI | Zee News. Zeenews.india.com (21 March 2009). Retrieved on 11 April 2016.
  31. "Video Abhishek Verma raided June 7, 2012".
  32. "Abhishek Verma raided June 7, 2012 - Times of India".
  33. "Abhishek Verma played middleman in AgustaWestland 12 VVIP helicopters bribery scandal 2013 news on TimesNow".
  34. "Times of India - AgustaWestland Scam news related to Abhishek Verma".
  35. "Abhishek Verma involvement in VVIP Helicopters". LiveMint.
  36. Submit proof to freeze Abhishek Verma's bank account, says Liechtenstein to ED – timesofindia-economictimes. Articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved on 11 April 2016.
  37. Setback for ED probing Abhishek Verma's foreign bank accounts : North, News – India Today. Indiatoday.intoday.in (16 November 2014). Retrieved on 11 April 2016.
  38. Swiss authorities refuse to share information on Abhishek Verma – timesofindia-economictimes. Articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved on 11 April 2016.
  39. "High Value paintings seized from Abhishek Verma farmhouse by ED". The Hindu.
  40. "Business Standard High Value Paintings seized news".
  41. "Abhishek Verma's high end watches seized". The Times of India.
  42. "CBI books arms dealer Abhishek Verma under Official Secrets Act". India Today. 30 August 2012.
  43. "Court puts Jagdish Tytler, Abhishek Verma on trial in cheating case". The Economic Times. 9 December 2015.
  44. PTI (26 April 2017). "Court discharges Abhishek Verma in graft case". The Economic Times. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  45. Kumar, Nirnimesh. "Court discharges Abhishek Verma, wife in graft cases". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
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