A New Delhi court today ordered Britain-based billionaire Hinduja brothers to face charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy and corruption over the 1986 sale of artillery guns to the Indian army.
The Hinduja brothers - Srichand and Gopichand, who are British citizens, and Prakash, a Swiss citizen - were charged by the investigating bureau with accepting £5 million sterling in illegal commissions from Bofors to facilitate the sale of howitzers.
Commissions in defence deals are outlawed in India, and offenders face up to seven years in prison.
The Hindujas' lawyer said they would plead innocent when they appear in court tomorrow for a formal reading of the charges.
A lawyer for defunct Swedish arms company Bofors, which has also been charged, made no comment.
The Bofors case is one of India's most well-known corruption scandals. It was seen as the main cause for the political downfall of Rajiv Gandhi, who lost his overwhelming Parliament majority - the biggest-ever in Indian history - in the 1989 elections.
Mr Gandhi was assassinated in 1991 by a Tamil suicide bomber, but the case has since dogged his Congress party, now led by his widow, Ms Sonia Gandhi.
Friends and aides of Mr Gandhi have been investigated by India's Central Bureau for Investigation in the intervening years, but no one has been tried.