The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has, in the past, registered FIRs to probe cases of indictment or disclosure of corruption in the United States about Indian entities. The incidents were similar to the recent indictment of Adani Group companies, its chief Gautam Adani and seven others for allegedly bribing Indian officials to secure green energy supply deals.

The CBI had registered an FIR in February 2018 against some officials of US-based CDM Smith on charges of bribing $1.18 million to certain NHAI officials to clinch highway contracts and water projects in Goa. The CBI had booked CMD SMith and NHAI officials on the basis of the former’s self-disclosure before the US authorities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) that it bribed to secure contracts to develop highways and water projects in Goa.

Likewise, the CBI in 2023 filed a chargesheet against Arvind Khanna, the son of arms dealer Vipin Khanna, who died in 2019, their lawyer Gautam Khaitan and others for alleged payment of commission of $5.76 million in the purchase of three aircraft from Brazilian aerospace company Embraer in 2008. The CBI had registered a preliminary inquiry to investigate the case in September 2016, taking cognizance of a report in a Brazilian newspaper which charged that Embraer had engaged middlemen to swing aircraft deals in India and Saudi Arabia.

Paid fine

In April 2002, the US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Xerox in a New York Federal Court on charges of misreporting earnings by about $ 1.5 billion ( then worth ₹7,329 crore). Xerox had in June 2002 submitted a 800-page report to SEC in response to the $1.5 billion scam and agreed to pay fine of $10 million.

This report of Xerox disclosed that its Indian JV (Modi Xerox) had paid some bribe to Indian government officials to obtain government contracts in 1998-2000.

With this information on bribery of Indian government officials coming to light, the Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA) launched an inspection of the books of Modi Xerox and a private investigator was appointed to submit a report. The investigation report was later submitted to MCA and this report had details of the bribes taken by government officials. However, no action was later taken on the findings of the report, sources said.

A former CBI officer, who has also served in the Interpol, Delhi, said the agency is well within its right to carry out probe in corruption cases even if the offence has occurred abroad, thanks to the 2018 amendment of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC) Act.

In the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, Section 9 comes of up with different definition of a ‘commercial organisation’ to make it clear that attempting or giving bribe to public servants even by entities that is not registered in India can also be an offence and be prosecuted here.