EXPOSED: George Soros foundation-backed NGO was behind complaint, seeking probe into Rafale deal in France

Source : India Today

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French NGO Sherpa Association which filed a corruption complaint with the national financial prosecutor of France in 2018 against the 36-aircraft Rafale deal with India is backed by George Soros's Open Society Foundations.

"We filed a complaint with the national financial prosecutor's office in Paris in order to clarify the conditions surrounding the sale of 36 Rafale plane by #Dassault Aviation to India in 2016," Sherpa Association tweeted on November 23, 2018.

Sherpa said its complaint alleging “potential acts of corruption” came after a report by French investigative website Mediapart.

A declaration by Sherpa Association names George Soros's Foundations as one of its five supporters.

George Soros's Open Society Foundations claims that its team works to "help promote the values of justice, democracy, and human rights" in over 120 countries throughout the world.

Billionaire-philantrophist George Soros came under attack from Union minister Smriti Irani after his remarks on the Adani-Hindenburg controversy and the Narendra Modi government.

Soros established Open Society Foundations in 1984 by using parts of his wealth.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court had dismissed a petition seeking probe into the India-France deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets. The bench, which was led by then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said there was no commercial favouritism and occasion to “really doubt the decision-making process”.

Again on November 14, 2019, the Supreme Court rejected all petitions seeking a review of its order in the Rafale deal.

French investigative website Mediapart reported in July 2021 that a French judge had been appointed to lead a "highly sensitive" judicial probe into alleged "corruption and favouritism" in the Rs 59,000 crore Rafale fighter jet deal with India.

This report had prompted the Congress to appeal to the Narendra Modi government to order a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Rafale deal.