Goa, July 6 -- An Indian-origin businessman has been accused of posing as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative to build close relationships with Indonesia's top political leadership in an alleged bid to secure a multibillion-dollar defence contract.

According to a report by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), businessman Gaurav Srivastava falsely claimed to be associated with the CIA while cultivating ties with Indonesia's current President Prabowo Subianto, who was serving as the country's defence minister at the time.

The report alleges that Srivastava, who reportedly referred to himself as "Mr G", accompanied Prabowo to several high-level meetings in Washington, DC, and Jakarta in 2020. These meetin...