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Suresh Nanda

Suresh Nanda
Born (1941-06-01) 1 June 1941 (age 83)
Karachi, Sind, British India
Occupations
  • Businessman
  • navy officer (retired)
SpouseRenu Nanda
Children2
FatherSardarilal Mathradas Nanda
Military career
Allegiance India
Service / branch Indian Navy
Years of serviceunknown
Rank Lieutenant commander

Suresh Nanda (born 1 June 1941) is an Indian businessman, arms dealer and former officer in the Indian Navy. Nanda was a Lieutenant Commander in the Indian Navy, before starting his business career in the 1970s.[1] In his business career, Nanda's business interests have been the defence, hospitality, information technology and infrastructure industries.[2][3][4] During his career, Nanda consistently faced allegations of being one of India's most powerful arms dealers and in 2021, he was convicted by a special court for charges related to defence deals and bribery.[5][6]

Early life and education

Suresh Nanda was born to Admiral Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda and Sumitra Nanda in Karachi, British India. His father, Sardarilal Mathradas, had also served as the Chief of the Naval Staff of the Indian Navy.[7] Nanda studied in St. Columba's School, Delhi, the same school where notable personalities like Shah Rukh Khan, Rahul Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi and officers of the Indian Armed Forces like Rana Chhina, Arun Khetarpal and DS Hooda had studied.[8][9]

Navy career

Nanda graduated from the 16th course of the National Defence Academy and joined the Indian Navy.[1] He eventually reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander; however, Nanda left the Indian Navy while serving as his father's flag lieutenant because “his father’s looming personality ensured he never got credit for anything he did.”[10][1]

Business career

Nanda began his business career after leaving the Indian Navy and by the 1970s, he joined his father's company, Crown Corporation.[1] His, father Sardarilal Mathradas, had set up the company after to re-employ retired naval personnel.[1] Nanda later took control of the Crown Corporation, and the company eventually became the Crown Group, with business interests in the defence, information technology and infrastructure industries.[2][3][11] He also founded and managed the company Dynatron Services, which focused on providing maintenance and after-sales service to for equipment sold in India.[12]

In 2000, Nanda stated in interviews that he founded the company C-1 India, an e-commerce company that focused on providing an online portal for procurement and tenders for Indian government departments and government companies.[13] C-1 India came under scrutiny in 2008 due to its links with Nanda.[13] Despite Vivek Agarwal, the company president, stating in 2008 that Nanda was longer involved with the company, the office address of C-1 India, D-5 Defence Colony, New Delhi, had a board outside listing C-1 India and Nanda's other companies: Crown Corporation and Dynatron Services.[13] The scrutiny of C-1 India focused on foreign fund transfers into the company's accounts and queries on how government companies, including the then Ordinance Factory Board, was doing business with the company despite Nanda being named an arms dealer.[13]

In 2003, Nanda entered the hotel industry by acquiring the Claridges Hotel in New Delhi and the Nabha Palace Hotel in Mussoorie.[4][14][15] Subsequently, he built Vivanta Surajkund which is managed by the Indian Hotels Company Limited.[16] In 2015, he expanded made his hotel business international and built Taj Dubai in Dubai.[17]

Arms dealing and conviction

Nanda has since the 1980s repeatedly faced allegations of being one of the three largest arms dealers in India and he was convicted by a special court in 2021 in connection with defence deals and bribery.[18][5] Sudhir Choudhrie and Vipin Khanna faced allegations of being among the other two largest arms dealers, and the families of all three individuals, including Nanda's family, were reported to have had a controlling presence in the Indian defence industry since the 1980s.[5][19] According to journalist Sandeep Unnithan in 2008, his company, the Crown Corporation was "associated with major defence deals concluded with the Soviet Union and later Russia...The booming arms trade of the ’80s and ’90s gave the Nandas all the trappings of plutocracy: a sprawling mansion on Grosvenor Square in London’s exclusive Mayfair district, a mansion on Prithviraj Road in the heart of Lutyens' Delhi and Bentleys and BMWs in the garage."[1] In 2006, alleged arms dealer Abhishek Verma claimed that he was being framed for the Scorpene deal scam by former Deputy Prime Minister of India L.K. Advani, who Verma further claimed was being assisted and funded by Nanda.[20]

Operation West End and Barak Missile scandal

In 2001, Operation West End, a sting operation conducted by Tehelka, named Nanda as one of the recipients of kickbacks in the acquisition of Barak 1 missiles, manufactured by Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI), by the Indian government.[1][12] It was alleged in Operation West End, that Nanda paid a bribe to Samata Party President Jaya Jaitley. However, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), after their investigation of the Barak Missile scandal, filed a closure report due to lack of evidence.[21][22] In Tehelka's conversation with retired Lieutenant Colonel V.K. Berry as part of the sting operation, he stated that Nanda was one of the three largest arms dealers.[23]

Conviction

In the First Information Report filed on 9 October 2005, the CBI mentioned large payments from the firm MTU Aero Engines, a supplier to IAI, into the bank accounts of Dynatron Services, a company managed by Suresh Nanda and his family members during the relevant period.[13] In March 2008, Nanda was arrested by the CBI, along with his son Sanjeev and chartered accountant Bipin Shah while reportedly trying to bribe an Income Tax Department (IT Department) officer Ashutosh Verma, the deputy director of IT (investigations), with Rs 10 crore to keep under wraps the report of a series of IT raids on his premises in 2007, which reportedly unearthed incriminating evidence of his involvement in the Barak Missile scandal.[1]

The CBI's evidence against Nanda included 134 incriminating telephone conversations and messages that were intercepted in 2008.[6] The CBI also produced as evidence, 32 incriminating conversations between Nanda and others, which included a prosecution witnesses that was related to discussions about a land deal in Goa.[6] The special court convicted all four for bribery charges in April 2021 and sentenced them to one-year of rigorous imprisonment.[6][18]

Personal life

Nanda is married to Renu Nanda and has two children, Sanjeev and Sonali.[24] His daughter, Sonali, married businessman Peter Punj in 2002.[25]

Main article: 1999 Delhi hit-and-run case

In 1999, Nanda's 19-year-old son Sanjeev Nanda ran over and killed six people, including three police constables in a hit and run with his BMW in New Delhi. Tests showed that Sanjeev was drunk at the time of the accident. He was sentenced to five years in jail by a Delhi court; but the Delhi High Court allowed him to serve two years instead. The Delhi Police appeal the reduced sentence to the Supreme Court and sought a harsher 10-year imprisonment. However, the Supreme Court allowed Sanjeev Nanda to be released on account of his time served, required him to do two years of community service and pay a fine of 50 lakh rupees.[26]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Unnithan, Sandeep (24 March 2008). "The Barak backfire". India Today. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b "About Us". Crown Group. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Battling controversy,old age,former Navy Chief Admiral Nanda passes away". The Indian Express. 13 May 2009. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  4. ^ a b TNN (6 April 2003). "Nanda takes the Claridges cake". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Sarin, Ritu (28 October 2006). "Arms and the Men". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Mohan J, Anand Mohan (2 April 2021). "Bribery case: Arms dealer Suresh Nanda, IRS officer among 3 convicted". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  7. ^ Our Bureau (10 March 2008). "Bribery bust nets big guns". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  8. ^ "Suresh Nanda". Leader Biography. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  9. ^ "As Delhi's St. Columba's turns 75, its alumni have much to celebrate". Asian Age. Archived from the original on 16 March 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  10. ^ Ramesh, PR (12 May 2016). "Indian Arms Dealers: The Defence Dynasty". Open The Magazine. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  11. ^ Banerjee, Aritra (23 August 2023). "Russian Arms Giant Rostec seeks Help from Indian Offset Partners amidst Ukraine Crisis – Private Intel Report". Frontier India. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  12. ^ a b Trehan, Madhu (6 April 2011). Prism Me a Lie Tell Me A Truth: Tehelka as Metaphor. New Delhi: Roli Books. ISBN 978-81-7436-950-5. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d e Sarin, Ritu (30 March 2008). "Arms dealer Nanda in jail but firm he floated thrives on Govt business". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 1 November 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  14. ^ "Claridges Hotel up for sale; Rs 1,500 crore expected". Economic Times. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  15. ^ "Claridges to demolish, build new Sea Rock". DNA India. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  16. ^ Chaturvedi, Anumeha (25 August 2018). "Indian hotels, Claridges in JV Talks". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  17. ^ "Suresh Nanda and Taj Group come up with a masterpiece". Mid-day. 16 March 2020. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  18. ^ a b Mohan J, Anand (5 April 2021). "Bribery case: Arms dealer Suresh Nanda, chartered accountant and ex-IRS officer sent to 1 year of rigorous imprisonment". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  19. ^ Mihir, Srivastava (5 April 2012). "The Men Who Do Not Exist". Open. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  20. ^ "Advani framed me: Abhishek". Hindustan Times. 24 March 2006. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  21. ^ IANS (1 February 2017). "Court accepts closure report in Barak missile deal". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  22. ^ Chauhan, Neeraj (11 December 2013). "CBI closes Barak scandal case for lack of evidence". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  23. ^ Bahal, Aniruddha; Samuel, Mathew. "Operation West End". Tehelka. p. 36. Archived from the original on 31 March 2001. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  24. ^ Singh, Smriti (6 September 2008). "'My son lost his youth in trial'". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  25. ^ TNN (19 February 2002). "A wedding to remember..." The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  26. ^ "BMW case: Six lives would have been saved if Sanjeev Nanda showed mercy, says Supreme Court". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suresh_Nanda