M D Nalapat
In the 1960s for over three decades, probably the most influential
non-official individual resident in India was Ottavio Quatrocchi, an
Italian who had the blunt demeanour of an Australian rather than the
charm that the people of that ancient civilisation are justly known for.
Nearly 70 key projects were sanctioned during this long period to
companies that “Mr Q” was considered to favour, especially
Snam-Progetti. Those officials who dared to sanction contracts to
companies other than the few favoured by Quatrocchi found their careers
in India ended, including Cabinet Secretary P K Kaul, who was shunted
off to Washington before completing his term in office, after a contract
was won by another company instead of Snam. The then Petroleum
Secretary, A S Gill, who was in line to be Cabinet Secretary found his
career at an end after this decision was taken,and the minister
concerned was swiftly removed from his post, as were others who dared
take decisions other than those believed to have the backing of “Mr Q”
What the source of the power of this Italian fixer is remains obscure.
However, none of his political allies could save his career in India once his name was outed in the scandal involving the purchase of Bofors guns in 1986. A year later, Swedish radio claimed that about $65 million had been paid as bribes to get the contract (peanuts in this day and age), and the Swiss authorities established that “Mr Q” was one of the beneficiaries. The Central Bureau of Investigation asked that his passport be impounded. Instead, on the recommendation of the minister looking after the CBI, Quatrocchi was allowed to fly out of India on 29 July 1993 to the safety of Kuala Lumpur. Since then, he has depended on his family members to ensure that contact be retained with influential individuals in India, a task that they have done so well that even today, he is among the few who can “get almost anything done” through the Government of India, including ensuring the return of the money that the investigating authorities say was a bribe paid to secure the Bofors contract. While other governments seek to confiscate the money stashed illegally away by the powerful, the Manmohan Singh government returned it to “Mr Q” a few years ago.
