Thread by @SaketGokhale

US sanctions & Anil Ambani.

Thread 👇

Trump’s sanctions against Turkey result largely from Erdogan’s agreement to purchase the S-400 surface-to-air missile system from Russia.

Interestingly, India too signed a deal worth $5.4 billion with Russia for S-400 in 2015.

(1/12)

Purchases from Russia attract US sanctions under the “Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA)”.

The US can issue waivers but only on a transaction-to-transaction basis.

The US still has NOT given India a waiver on this deal despite requests.

(2/12)

Now here’s where it gets interesting (and murky).

Guess who is the main offset partner for the S-400 deal between India & Russia?

Yup - it’s Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defense.

Ambani signed a contract with Russia’s Almaz-Antey which makes S-400 potentially worth $6bn.

(3/12)

If the US decides NOT to give a waiver on the S-400 deal, Reliance Defense faces sanctions too.

Now this makes it tricky because Reliance Defense is also the offset partner on Rafale.

US sanctions mean Ambani can’t work with Dassault which is French (a NATO ally).

(4/12)

Foreign Minister Jaishankar has been lobbying hard in the US to get a waiver on S-400. A few weeks ago he said “he’s confident about his negotiation skills”.

The US, however, hasn’t yet said a word on this.

(5/12)

The fall of the S-400 deal would mean a major setback for Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defense.

If the deal doesn’t get a waiver (and India still goes ahead), Ambani’s Rafale deal gets hit.

India can easily find an alternative to S-400. But that’d destroy Reliance Defense.

(6/12)

This is another reason why the Modi govt. hasn’t answered my questions on the mystery Motor Sich aircraft that was intercepted by the IAF on 10th May.

Motor Sich makes engines for Antonov. Anil Ambani has signed a JV with Antonov.

(7/12)

Motor Sich (a Ukrainian form) shockingly operates in India out of the Russian Embassy. This despite the fact that Ukraine & Russia are at war.

Motor Sich is being probed in Ukraine for terror funding to Russian separatists & for its links to Russian intelligence.

(8/12)

The Ukrainians had also started corruption probe lasts year in India’s deal with Antonov. They wrote a letter to the Home Ministry but the probe was buried by then-Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

This is why my questions on the #AntonovScam are important.

(9/12)

The India-Ukraine-Russia defense deal triangle has one common component - Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defense.

Which is why, despite repeated requests, the PMO & the MoD are stonewalling my queries with a complete silence.

(10/12)

There’s murkiness worth billions of dollars that the Modi govt. is trying to hide.

I WILL get my answers but it’s difficult with the stony silence from the media.

And that’s why I need your support.

(11/12)

Please help me raise this issue & get answers to pertinent questions from the Modi govt.

This involves our national security & the safety of our IAF pilots. This involves billions of dollars of public money.

All of this is at stake only for one reason - Anil Ambani.

(12/12)