Indian-origin businessman ‘poses’ as CIA agent, woos Indonesian president to secure fighter gets deal, says report
NEW DELHI: Indian-origin businessman Gaurav Srivastava allegedly posed as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative and established ties with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in an attempt to secure a multibillion-dollar defence deal involving fighter jets and other military equipment, according to a report by Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).According to civil lawsuits filed by his former business partner, Niels Troost in California and the southern district of New York, the alleged scheme began with Srivastava claiming in recorded phone calls that he worked for the CIA. The lawsuits allege that he leveraged those claims to gain access to senior Indonesian officials, accompanying then-defence minister Prabowo Subianto to high-level meetings in Washington, DC, and Jakarta in 2020 where military procurement was discussed.That year, Srivastava obtained three letters of intention to purchase outlining plans for Indonesia to acquire fighter jets and other military equipment. He later secured another letter of intent and a memorandum of understanding covering two additional defence procurement arrangements in 2021 and 2022. However, none of the proposed agreements ultimately led to purchases by the Indonesian government, the report said. Between 2020 and 2022, four companies controlled by Srivastava obtained five preliminary defence agreements from Indonesia’s defence ministry and a state-owned defence firm. During this period, Srivastava was photographed alongside Prabowo and a company executive at a signing ceremony, and the agreement was later publicly announced at a press conference.The proposed deals included the supply of 36 F-15 fighter jets, UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, C-130 transport aircraft, and a joint operations command and control centre for Indonesia’s defence ministry. In 2022, the United States approved the potential sale of 36 F-15 fighter jets and related equipment to Indonesia in a deal valued at up to $13.9 billion.However, corporate records showed that the four companies behind the agreements were shell entities with no prior experience in defence procurement. All were later deregistered for failing to pay taxes, and none were identified in the US defense security cooperation agency’s announcement on the proposed fighter jet sale.According to legal complaint, Srivastava also cultivated relationships with influential Indonesian business figures, including Prabowo’s brother, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, chairman of the Arsari Group. The complaint alleges that Troost, believing Srivastava’s claims that he was a well-connected CIA operative, transferred a 50 per cent stake in his company to him. It further alleges that Srivastava subsequently arranged a $51 million loan from their company to the Arsari Group.The businessman has denied the allegations, describing claims that he posed as a CIA agent as “gross fabrications” spread by his former business partner, Niels Troost, who was sanctioned by the United Kingdom, the European Union and Switzerland for trading Russian oil.
