Raul Vinci’s falsehoods and the truth behind his MPhil

Raul Vinci, the scion of India’s most influential political dynasty, has consistently deceived the people of India, alongside various government institutions, including the Election Commission and foreign governments, on several matters. These include his educational qualifications, religious beliefs, and private life.

Despite the Indian National Congress’s efforts to portray Raul Vinci as a leader with remarkable qualities, evidence suggests otherwise. A secret cable from March 3, 2005, reveals that US authorities view him as a “lackluster leader”, raising serious doubts about his ability to guide India’s future.

On April 30, 2023, in a statement before the Lok Sabha elections, Raul Vinci admitted to being a convict in a criminal case, which has been stayed by the Supreme Court under order number 8644/2023 (evidence provided in the following photo gallery).

Regarding his educational qualifications, Raul Vinci claimed to have completed the AISSCE from CBSE in 1989, a Bachelor of Arts from Rollins College, Florida, in 1994, and an M.Phil. in Development Studies from Trinity College, University of Cambridge, in 1995 (evidence provided in the following photo gallery).

On the Indian National Congress’s website, it states:

“A year after attending St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, for his undergraduate studies he moved to the US to attend Harvard University. Following the assassination of his father and the security concerns that surfaced, Raul Vinci [the website mentions Raul’s another name] shifted to Rollins College in Florida. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in 1994. Thereafter, he went on to pursue and complete his M.Phil. in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge (Trinity College) in 1995.

“Upon graduation, Raul [the website mentions Raul’s another name] started his professional journey at the Monitor Group, a management consulting firm in London. Once he returned to India, he set up a technology outsourcing firm – Backops Services Private Ltd. in Mumbai, where he served as a director”.

The INC website does not mention Raul Vinci’s affiliation with Backops Limited in the United Kingdom.

According to available data, Backops Limited (Company number 04874597) was incorporated on August 21, 2003. Although the company claims to provide “Consultancy services”, it essentially functioned as Rahul Gandhi’s lobbying firm, offering business advantages to prospective foreign entities in exchange for kickbacks. Another partner in the company is an American citizen named Ulrik McKnight, while a former director was a British national named Brian Lovegrove, whose date of birth is suspiciously not mentioned. When the company’s existence became public, Rahul Gandhi quietly dissolved it sometime in 2007.

A report by Business Today claimed that the co-promoter of Congress President Raul Vinci’s UK firm, Backops Limited, acquired defense offsets during the UPA regime. Ulrik McKnight owned 35 percent of Backops UK, while Raul Vinchi held a majority 65 percent equity stake between 2003 and 2009, before the firm was wound up. McKnight later secured offset contracts from French defense supplier Naval Group for Scorpene submarines in 2011.

Raul Vinci was also associated with a company called Backops Services Private Limited, where his sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Vadra served as a co-director. In his 2004 election affidavit, Raul declared that he owned 83 percent of shares in this Indian firm and had invested Indian Rupees 250,000. This company, incorporated in 2002, was dissolved later, with its last returns filed in June 2010. However, Raul’s former business partner and his future companies continued to benefit from offset contracts awarded by a French defense company.

In 2011, as part of its offset obligations, French defense company Naval Group (formerly DCNS) signed a contract with Visakhapatnam-based Flash Forge Private Limited for supplying critical parts for Scorpene submarines being built at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in Mumbai. The French firm had a contract to build six Scorpene submarines under a deal worth approximately INR 200 billion.

In the same financial year, Flash Forge acquired a UK-based company named Optical Armour Limited. On November 2012, two directors of Flash Forge were given directorship roles at Optical Armour Limited, along with Ulrik McKnight. According to 2014 filings, McKnight was allotted 4.9 percent of shares by the firm.

On November 8, 2012, the day these two individuals assumed the directorship of the UK Company Ulrik Mcknight was also given directorship of the company. That’s not all, according to the filings made by Optical Armour in 2014 McKnight was allotted 4.9 percent shares by the firm.

Upon examining documents related to Backops Limited, we discovered that Raul Vinci declared himself a British national. We also found another company with the same name, registered on May 3, 2019 (Company number 11977380), located at 166 Ashby Road, Loughborough, England. This new company is similarly involved in “Management consultancy activities.” Two Indian nationals, Markose Sibi and Sony Sebastian, are associated with this company. We have not yet verified whether Raul Vinci has any ties to this newly registered company.

Series of lies about educational qualifications

Raul Vinci has consistently lied about his educational background. The Indian National Congress claims, “he went on to pursue and complete his M.Phil. in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge (Trinity College) in 1995”. However, the wording is deceptive. It does not explicitly state that Raul completed the M.Phil. Instead, it says he “went on to pursue and complete” the program, suggesting that he attended but did not actually finish the degree. In reality, Raul Vinci does not hold an M.Phil degree.

We carefully reviewed a document that is purportedly Raul Vinci’s M.Phil. certificate, available on several websites. This document, issued on April 22, 2008, and signed by Dianna Kazemi, Secretary of Development Studies, is merely a letter confirming that Vinci attended the M.Phil. course. It clearly states that Raul Vinci failed Paper-5 (Land Econ: National Economic Planning & Policy). Furthermore, the University of Cambridge confirmed via email that the year “2004-2005” mentioned in the letter was incorrect. This letter itself is highly suspicious.

Below is the image of the letter and the email from the University of Cambridge.

Raul Vinci does not possess any certificate issued by the University of Cambridge, as he did not complete the M.Phil. course. Below is an image of the certificate typically issued to students who complete the course. It proves that Raul Vinci’s claim of holding an M.Phil. degree from the University of Cambridge, which he even stated in his affidavit to the Election Commission, is entirely false. Under Section 177 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), such false statements are punishable offenses.

The IPC-177 says:

Whoever, being legally bound to furnish information on any subject to any public servant, as such, furnishes, as true, information on the subject which he knows or has reason to believe to be false, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both;

Or, if the information which he is legally bound to give respects the commission of an offence, or is required for the purpose of preventing the commission of an offence, or in order to the apprehension of an offender, with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

Raul Vinci’s falsehood regarding his educational qualification also is punishable under Section 193 of the Indian Penal Code, which says:

Whoever intentionally gives false evidence in any stage of a judicial proceeding, or fabricates false evidence for the purpose of being used in any stage of a judicial proceeding, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine,

And whoever intentionally gives or fabricates false evidence in any other case, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Here one may ask – after evidently proving Raul Vinci’s falsehood, lies and even false statement in his affidavit with the Election Commission, shall authorities concerned now initiate necessary legal actions under IPC-177 and IPC-193 to uphold rule of law?

In addition to Raul Vinci’s falsehood centering M.Phil, we also are providing few more extremely disturbing information about his educational background.

In 1989, when Raul Vinci failed to get admitted at St. Stephen’s College in New Delhi due to extremely poor marks, Government of India had to declare him as a “shooting champion” to ensure his admission in this prestigious institution under sports quota. Subsequently, St. Stephen’s College authorities were forced to get him admitted despite the fact, he never participated in any shooting competition. Below is the image of the certificate issued by the ‘National Rifle Association of India’, which is signed by the Secretary General of the organization.

Since Raul Vinci never participated in any shooting competition, the certificate issued by the ‘National Rifle Association of India’ is also an offense. Following this scandalous incident, Hyderabad-based News Time published a report titled “Rahul ‘shoots’ his way into elite college”.

On July 6, 1989, The Statesman published a breaking story stating Raul Vinci’s marks in All India Senior Secondary School Examination were “10 to 20 percent below the cut-off point for the course in B.A., History (honors)”.

Doctor V. Arya, responsible for admissions at St. Stephen’s College, said the “prime minister´s son was admitted in the sports category after an interview because he won a gold medal in the national shooting championship”.

Madan Lal Khurana, president of the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleged that Raul Vinci was admitted on fake certificates issued by a senior police official.

Khurana further said his application was rejected earlier by Hindu College and alleged that he never participated in any national or state level competition as required by the university.

Delhi University court member Vijay Goel threatened to take St. Stephen’s College officials to court for irregularity in admitting Raul Vinci.

The Statesman report said: “For security reasons, Gandhi´s children, daughter Priyanka and son Rahul, have been studying at home since 1984. They took examinations through Jesus and Mary Convent School run by Religious of Jesus and Mary Sisters. Security reasons will also prevent them from attending college regularly.

The university has strict rules for attendance at the undergraduate level and there has been no instance of any student being allowed to stay at home and give his examinations. The prime minister´s son can be exempted from attending classes only through a discretionary power of the university vice chancellor or a resolution in the academic council”.

Raul Vinci obtained 45.9 percent marks in his first year at St. Stephen’s College. In 1990, he moved to the United States and pursued a degree in Harvard University at Massachusetts (Cambridge), where he was unable to cope up with the pressure and despite a lot of recommendations from Senator Gordon a close friend of his father on the SFRC, Vinci miserably failed in 7 out of 9 subjects.

Senator Gordon wrote a letter claiming the reason for this was due to the stress of his father’s political campaign and due to pressure from India – which Harvard ignored. As a result, Raul Vinci moved to Florida where the Ministry of External Affairs sent a letter explaining that for Safety’s sake and Security’s sake (due to large number of Sri Lankan Tamils migrating to foreign shores) – Raul Vinci would attend college under the pseudonym of Raul Alberto Vinci (There is grand mystery behind the “Alberto Vinci” pseudonym, as according to a source, an individual named Raul Alberto Vinci, a citizen of a Caribbean Island nation, faces life-term imprisonment in the United States on allegation of cocaine trafficking, as a large consignment of cocaine from Colombia was busted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). We are currently verifying this information.

Raul Vinci claims to have obtained Bachelor of Arts degree from the Rollins College, Florida in 1994 with a 2.2 GPA, although he never submitted copy of certificate issued by the Rollins College in support of his claim. During this period, he reportedly was admitted to a clinical facility for four-and-half months ostensibly for depression (which many also allege was result of drug addiction abuse).

In the United States, Raul Vinci got a job in a company named ‘Monitor Inc’, a concern of Deloitte, at the influence of several individuals, where he was earning roughly US$76,000 per year. Raul Vinci’s only responsibility was to arrange meetings with Indian businessmen and politicians.

Raul Vinci’s pattern of deception, particularly concerning his educational qualifications and business dealings, raises serious concerns about his integrity and suitability for leadership. By misrepresenting facts and evading scrutiny, he has not only misled the Indian public but also undermined the values of transparency and accountability that are essential for any democratic leader. As the truth about his background continues to unravel, it is crucial for Indian voters to demand honesty and trustworthiness from those who seek to represent them, ensuring that their nation’s future is in capable and ethical hands.

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