The case dates back to 2011, when India concluded with the France a contract to modernize its fleet of 51 Mirage-2000, worth nearly 1.4 billion euros. An Indian middleman claims to have helped Thales win the contract in exchange for the payment of 20 million euros by an offshore financial circuit.
Thales strongly disputes the allegations of corruption. And its spokeswoman insists: Thales, which "applies a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption", "has never been questioned by the PNF on this subject"