Abhishek Verma: The aspiring arms dealer who wants to sell cola

"We are launching ourselves into the food sector. We are bringing a European beverage which will be manufactured in India under the government's Make in India scheme. Since our products will be mass manufactured, we will have nothing to do with the government," said Abhishek Verma, once an aspiring arms dealer who pledges he has nothing to do with India's defence sector any more.

Out on bail, he frequently features as an accused, a mastermind, in at least seven cases (by his own admission) being pursued by agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The 49-year-old Verma broke into the news cycle again last week when revelations were made about him allegedly honey-trapping and blackmailing BJP MP Varun Gandhi into parting with information on the "workings of" parliamentary committees on defence.

The 36-year-old MP from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh has claimed the charges were "frivolous" in nature and the allegations had an element of "impossibility". He also claimed that while he knew Verma, they had not met for "many years".

Speaking to India Today TV, in his first interview in over four years, Verma said: "I feel bad for Varun Gandhi, for the humiliation he has had to suffer in what has been orchestrated by (US-based attorney) Edmonds Allen by using computer-generated morphed images."

Interestingly, in his formal rejoinder, Verma linked Allen's revelations with the Uttar Pradesh elections and accused the latter of assassinating his and Gandhi's character.

He added: "We knew each other since he was 18-years-old, our parents knew each other. But I did not try and speak to Gandhi after these revelations."

Citing a "Congress politician and some from other parties", Verma alleged that Allen was being propped up at their behest. Verma faces cases under the Official Secrets Act, relating to money laundering, foreign exchange violations, non-disclosure of income, among others.

By his admission, the CBI has slapped five cases against him, two by the Enforcement Directorate and an appeal in the Income Tax tribunal. Also by Verma's own admission, his wife and business partner Anca is also an accused in two CBI cases and one ED case. She is currently out on bail in all three cases. Charges against her range from conspiracy to money laundering to corruption.

Verma in many ways is easy to reach, accessible as he is on his WhatsApp account and SMS. At the same time, he can be tough to track as he seldom speaks from his registered number.

An "UNKNOWN" number flashes when he wants to speak. Sometimes it can be a WhatsApp call too. It took days of coordination to get him to speak. Before we sat down, he wanted pointers to understand my line of questioning.

"It won't be ethical to ask you for questions but a general direction?" Careful about his words, he chose to not just bring his lawyer, Maninder Singh, for the interview but also made him share screen space with him. "When there is a legal aspect, let Mr Singh give you the details on camera," is what he said.

Responding to the emails which were made public by senior advocate Prashant Bhushan and his colleague Yogendra Yadav, where Verma and his associates, including Anca, are found allegedly boasting about their links to Gandhi and dubious role in swinging defence deals, Verma called them "fabricated" and said they had been "challenged in court".

He added: "There is nothing new in these allegations. Investigating agencies had shown us these papers in 2012. Perhaps that is why there has not been any fresh inquiry from the government's side even after these accusations."

Claiming he had no access to secret documents, he asked, "Allen claims I sent him secret papers which he is forwarding to the investigating agencies, but the rules say even the person possessing the papers is an accused, which makes him an accused. I wonder why he has not been made one."

He disclosed his legal team had moved an application towards the same. Verma said: "In October 2012, a joint CBI-ED team had travelled to the United States to interview Allen on his revelations. Why did he not release these images and emails then? Allen has in fact refused to come and testify in an Indian court even as a witness." He stated he was locked in dispute with the American attorney.

In 2014, Verma had made an attempt to turn approver in a case. The CBI appealed against his plea citing "a large number of criminal and financial cases against him" which made him an "unreliable" witness. Verma claimed he did not recollect any such instance.

Verma's detractors say he has used services of prostitutes and escorts to honey-trap key decision-makers. He has, allegedly, brokered key defence deals and earned commission - an activity that is bad in law.

"My only link with the defence ministry was when we had a telecom venture and I wanted to equip our armed forces with the best of high technology, but we lost the bid and that was it. I do not want to speak anything more about it," he said.

When asked if he was friends with Ravi Shankaran, an accused in the infamous navy war room leak case, he said there was nothing wrong in it. "Some people do a lot of things but keep quiet. I am not one of those. I like a good life and I don't keep quiet," he replied.

Asked if he would, considering the defence ministry is looking to allow pre-declared agents into the procurement process, make an entry into the sector he exited, he said: "Dealing with the defence ministry is akin to going near the sun. You come too close."

Also read - Varun Gandhi 'Honey Trapped': 5 questions to ask Modi government now