The mysterious brothers who helped bring down Mandelson

By PAUL VALLELY Herald correspondent

LONDON - Ask who are the Hinduja Brothers who this week have played such a prominent role in the downfall of Peter Mandelson and you will, most likely, be given an answer which invites you to read between the lines.

They are men of fabulous wealth, who stand accused of corruption in their native land. They are friends of the powerful and famous, but their friendship comes at some cost.

They are representatives of one of the world's most ancient cultures, who now sit uneasily in a different world and time.

Can there be any coherence to the assembly of odd facts, veiled hints and unresolved innuendo? One thing is clear: the black and white definitions by which political judgments are made in the West seem inadequate.

Certainly, the four Hindujas brothers - Srichand, Gopichand, Prakesh, and Ashok - are among the most wealthy individuals in Britain. Between them they have homes in London, New York, Washington and Geneva and preside over a £6 billion ($20 billion) business empire which spans a spectrum of interests from banking to Bollywood.

But three of the key members of Britain's richest Asian family are now back in India, where a judge has refused them permission to leave the country while they are under investigation in the Bofors affair - that country's biggest corruption scandal which brought down the Government of Rajiv Gandhi. The brothers are accused of receiving £6 million in illegal commissions over the purchase of 400 howitzers from the Swedish arms manufacturers Bofors in 1986.

Having failed to block investigations into their Swiss bank accounts, the brothers have now admitted to receiving "certain payments" but deny that these had anything to do with the arms deal. Since arriving in Delhi last week Srichand, the chairman of their business empire, has eyed the whole process with sardonic good-humour. "Why shouldn't we be relaxed?" he asked Indian reporters. "We are very relaxed because we are innocent."

The brothers are used to being masters of their own destiny. They have powerful friends. The lavish dinners they throw at Alexandra Palace for the Hindu festival of light, Diwali, have become one of the social events of the year. Guests have included Margaret Thatcher, John Major and, most recently, Tony Blair and his wife, Cherie.

"They enjoy being seen with the people of the day," said one who has had close contact with the family. "Fifteen years ago in India that meant being with the Indian Prime Minister, the late Rajiv Ghandi and his corrupt circle whose role is also under investigation in the Bofors. That does not mean they did anything wrong. But they are social climbers who on one or two occasions have climbed into the wrong bed - and been spotted leaving in the morning."

"Their idea of social philanthropy is not quite as we know it," said the director of one UK charity which was involved in unsuccessful negotiations for a donation from the brothers' Hinduja Foundation.

"It was clear that in return for a comparatively small amount of money we would have to do huge grovelling - and we'd have to deliver a royal. To them philanthropy is intended chiefly to broaden their social standing - to acquire someone else to put on their mantelpiece in a framed photograph."