An Indian-origin businessman allegedly posed as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative to build close ties with Indonesia’s top leadership and secure a role in multibillion-dollar defence projects, according to a report by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
Identified as Gaurav Srivastava, the businessman is accused of presenting himself as a CIA agent while making relationships with senior Indonesian political and business leaders, including incumbent President Prabowo Subianto, who was serving as the country’s defence minister at the time.
According to the OCCRP, he was known in some circles as “Mr G” and accompanied Prabowo to high-level meetings in Washington, DC, and Jakarta in 2020. Those meetings reportedly involved talks on major military purchases, including fighter aircraft and other defence equipment.
The report is based on civil lawsuits filed in California and New York by Srivastava’s former business partner, Niels Troost.
CIA claims helped gain access
According to the lawsuits, Troost gave Srivastava a 50 per cent stake in his company. The court filings further allege that he repeatedly claimed he worked for the CIA and used that identity to win the confidence of senior Indonesian officials and gain access to top-level government meetings.
The lawsuits also refer to recorded phone calls in which he allegedly described himself as a CIA operative.
According to the report, Srivastava also built relationships with influential Indonesian businessmen, including Hashim Djojohadikusumo, the brother of President Prabowo Subianto and chairman of the Arsari Group.
The report says he made several claims about his past role in security matters. He allegedly told people that he had helped identify those responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings, the terrorist attack that killed more than 200 people in Indonesia. He also allegedly claimed that he played an important role in getting Prabowo removed from the United States immigration blacklist.
Defence agreements, letters of intent
The report says Srivastava secured three Letters of Intent (LOIs) from Indonesia in 2020 for the possible purchase of fighter jets and other military equipment.
It further states that another LOI and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) were obtained in 2021 and 2022 for two additional defence projects.
Between 2020 and 2022, four companies linked to him signed five preliminary defence agreements with Indonesia’s Defence Ministry and a state-owned defence company.
The proposed projects included the sale of 36 F-15 fighter jets, UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and C-130 transport aircraft. The agreements also covered plans to establish a military command and control centre for Indonesia.
Questions over companies linked to the deals
In 2022, the United States approved the possible sale of 36 F-15 fighter jets and related equipment to Indonesia in a deal valued at up to $13.9 billion.
According to the OCCRP report, the four companies connected to Srivastava were shell companies that had no previous record of working in defence procurement.
The report also says that when the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced the proposed F-15 fighter jet sale to Indonesia, none of Srivastava’s companies appeared in the official announcement.
The allegations contained in the OCCRP report are based on claims made in civil lawsuits filed by Srivastava’s former business partner. The report details how those alleged claims and business connections were said to have helped him gain access to senior Indonesian officials during talks over major defence procurement projects.
