Indian-Origin Businessman Posed as CIA Agent, to Pitch Multibillion-Dollar Defence Deal to Indonesian President: Report

An Indian-origin businessman, Gaurav Srivastava, allegedly posed as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative to establish ties with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. According to a report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), the masquerade was part of an attempt to secure a multibillion-dollar defence deal involving fighter jets and military hardware.

The scheme came to light through civil lawsuits filed in California and New York by Srivastava's former business partner, Niels Troost. The legal complaints allege that Srivastava claimed to work for the CIA during recorded phone calls, leveraging these assertions to gain access to senior Indonesian officials. Consequently, he accompanied then-defence minister Prabowo to high-level procurement meetings in Jakarta and Washington, D.C., in 2020.

Unfulfilled Military Agreements

Through his operations, Srivastava obtained three letters of intention to purchase military equipment in 2020. He secured another letter of intent and a memorandum of understanding for two additional defense arrangements between 2021 and 2022. However, the OCCRP report noted that "none of the proposed agreements ultimately led to purchases by the Indonesian government."

In total, four companies controlled by Srivastava secured five preliminary defense agreements from Indonesia’s defence ministry and a state-owned defence firm. Srivastava was even photographed alongside Prabowo at an official signing ceremony, which was later announced at a press conference.

The proposed deals included:

• 36 F-15 fighter jets
• UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters
• C-130 transport aircraft
• A joint operations command and control center

In 2022, the United States approved the potential sale of 36 F-15 fighter jets to Indonesia in a deal valued up to $13.9 billion.

However, a look into corporate registries exposed a massive red flag. The four businesses anchoring these multi-billion-dollar military agreements were actually shell corporations with absolutely zero background in defense supply chains. Eventually, every single one of these entities was struck off the corporate register for tax evasion. Furthermore, none of Srivastava's firms were mentioned in the official press release by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency regarding the authorized fighter jet sale.

High-Stakes Loans and Broken Partnerships

Beyond government officials, the legal complaints reveal that Srivastava aggressively built ties with prominent Indonesian tycoons. Among them was Prabowo's own brother, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, the billionaire chairman of the conglomerate Arsari Group. The fallout from these connections hit Srivastava’s business partner hard. According to the lawsuit, Troost genuinely believed that Srivastava was a deeply connected CIA asset operating in the shadows. Under that impression, Troost transferred a massive 50 percent equity stake in his own firm over to Srivastava. Once in control, Srivastava allegedly orchestrated a massive $51 million loan directly from their shared company funds straight to the Arsari Group.
 

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