SP Hinduja, named in Bofors case, dead

New Delhi, May 17

His business successes which started with the international distribution rights for the Bollywood blockbuster movie “Sangam” in 1964 made him one of the richest in Britain, but it was the Bofors scam that made Srichand Parmanand Hinduja famous, or rather infamous, back home.

SP Hinduja, as he was known, died in London on Wednesday after a prolonged illness. He was 87.

Born in a business family in Karachi, British India, he and his two younger brothers were accused of receiving payments totalling Rs 64 crore in illegal commissions to help Swedish gunmaker AB Bofors secure an Indian contract. All three — Srichand, Gopichand and Prakash Hinduja — were, however, exonerated by the Delhi High Court in 2005. The Hinduja empire was started by PD Hinduja. SP Hinduja founded the only Indian-owned Swiss bank, SP Hinduja Banquee Privee with headquarters in Geneva.