An Indian-origin conman, Gaurav Shrivastava, posing as an agent of the United States' intelligence agency, the CIA, allegedly managed to secure a preliminary defence deal from the Indonesian President after developing close ties with senior officials of the Southeast Asian nation.
The deals were worth billions of dollars. The case came to light in a joint investigation conducted by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and Indonesian news portal Tempo.
The investigation revealed that Shrivastava built strong ties with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto during his tenure as the country's defence minister.
The deals included plans to procure helicopters, fighter jets, transport aircraft and military command systems.
How did Gaurav Shrivastava and Prabowo develop ties?
As per Tempo, Shrivastava introduced himself to Indonesian officials and business figures as a CIA agent. Prabowo had nicknamed him "Mr G."
Tempo talked to Dutch oil trader Niels Troost, who said that he once accompanied Shrivastava to Prabowo's residence in West Java's Garuda Yaksa estate in Hambalang in mid-2022.
He told the publication that Shrivastava claimed to be a frequent visitor at Prabowo's residence and added that he helped identify the accused for the 2002 Bali bombings.
He also claimed to have played a key role in getting Prabowo removed from the US immigration blacklist. Notably, Prabowo was blacklisted for around two decades over alleged human rights abuses during his military career.
The Dutch oil trader also claimed that Shrivastava spoke about the Indonesian President's habits known only to his closed ones during the drive to his home.
What were the agreements?
Companies controlled by Shrivastava reportedly secured five agreements from Indonesia's Defence Ministry and a state-owned defence company between 2020 and 2022.
The proposed deals included UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, C-130 transport aircraft, 36 F-15 fighter jets and a joint operations command and control centre for Indonesia's Defence Ministry.
However, Jakarta didn't move forward with any of the proposed deals. Defence Ministry confirmed the preliminary agreements but termed them legally non-binding.
Tempo reported that Shrivastava had already faced legal disputes in California before his activities in the Southeast Asian nation. Shrivastava, however, has denied claiming to be a CIA agent and termed the allegations as 'fabrications'.
The Dutch oil trader also alleged that he had transferred a 50 per cent stake in his company to Shrivastava, thinking that he had intelligence connections. According to him, Shrivastava had also arranged a $51 million loan from his companies for the Arsari Group, whose chairman is Hashim Djojohadikusumo, Prabowo's younger brother.
Shrivastava told Troost that the money would be used for a covert US government programme. Later, he persuaded Arsari group to transfer half the loan amount to him, using which he bought a luxury $25 million mansion in Los Angeles.