From the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984 to the AgustaWestland helicopter deal in 2010, Indian administrators have time and again come across as rather slack and slipshod in dealing with offenders guilty of serious breach of trust with the Indian public in general and violation of the country’s legal parameters in particular.

Warren Anderson:

An American businessman who served as the CEO of the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal. He was one of the prime accused in the lethal gas leak incident that resulted in the deaths of at least 3,000 people on a chilly December night in 1984. Arrest warrants were issued against Anderson on charges of culpable homicide. Anderson flew into India and was briefly taken into custody by Indian authorities, but he eventually managed to slip out. A formal extradition request by India in 2003 was turned down by the United States government.

Ottavio Quattrocchi:

This Italian businessman was believed to have played a crucial role in bribing individuals to the tune of $11 million (Dh40.45 million) in India to help secure a deal for the purchase of 155mm Howitzer guns by the Indian Army from Swedish company AB Bofors. Quattrocchi’s proximity to the then prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, through his Italian wife Sonia Gandhi, the current Congress Party president, kicked up a huge political storm in India that eventually resulted in a humiliating electoral defeat for Rajiv and the Congress in 1989. In 1993, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) wanted to interrogate Quattrocchi, but he managed to leave New Delhi for Kuala Lumpur even before the CBI could reach him. In February 2007, Quattrocchi was detained in Argentina, but a half-hearted attempt by Indian authorities failed to secure his extradition to India. He died in July 2013.

Christian Michel:

One of the key dramatis personae in the AgustaWestland helicopter deal, Christian Michel is believed to have played a crucial role in paying bribes to individuals in India to help swing the deal for the Italian company. 18 million euros (Dh75.70 million) were reportedly siphoned off by Global Services FZE and Gufic Trading, floated by Michel, to help move the bribe money to India. Michel used to be a frequent visitor to New Delhi and even owns a luxury apartment in a posh Delhi neighbourhood, apart from other assets. Interpol has issued a red-corner notice against this British businessman, but only after he slipped out of India. India’s Enforcement Directorate has attached all his assets and sought his extradition from the United Kingdom.