Vipin Khanna

Vipin Kumar Khanna (14 December 1930 – 7 November 2019) was an Indian businessman and army officer.

Khanna had diverse business interests.

He founded Dynamic Sales Service International, a commodities trading and marketing company, which further expanded into engineering support, shipbroking, fast-moving consumer goods and additional industries.

Khanna also had other business interests, which included interests in the arms, aerospace, software, investment banking, hospitality, real estate, alcohol and drinks industries.

He was a Non-Resident Indian based in London, England, and also had a base in Delhi, India.

Khanna was born in Lahore, Punjab Province.

Vipin Kumar Khanna was born on 14 December 1930 in Lahore, Punjab Province, British India.

He was born into a Punjabi Hindu family.

Khanna was the son of Shanti Lal Khanna.

His younger brother was Vinod.

During the partition of India in 1947, Khanna and his family fled Lahore, and migrated to Delhi.

Khanna, along with his family, fled Lahore during the partition of India in 1947, and migrated to Delhi, India.

He was from a wealthy family in Lahore, but the family lost their wealth when they fled the city during the partition, and had to start anew after migrating to Delhi.

He was commissioned into the Indian Army in 1950, and eventually reached the rank of Major, before voluntarily retiring from the army in 1965.

After his retirement from the army, Khanna began his business career.

Khanna had a long and controversial business career.

His name was frequently associated with numerous controversies regarding allegations of being an arms dealer, links to numerous offshore companies and allegedly being involved in bribery scandals, however, the investigations into him found no evidence of wrongdoing and were dropped.

In 1950, Khanna was commissioned into the Indian Army after graduating from the National Defence Academy, which at the time was known as the Joint Services Wing, and was part of the Indian Military Academy, in Dehradun.

He was commissioned into the Brigade of the Guards.

During his service in the army, Khanna was part of the Indian contingent of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF), which was formed in the aftermath of the Suez Crisis, and was deployed to Egypt.

During his time in the UNEF, Khanna was aide-de-camp to Lieutenant general E. L. M. Burns, who was the first Force Commander of the UNEF.

While serving with the United Nations, he traveled extensively to foreign countries, which included those that had contributed to the UNEF and other countries as well.

Khanna built friendships and made contacts with prominent people during his travels, and these relationships later helped Khanna develop his international connections when he started his business career.

When he returned to India, Khanna became an instructor at the College of Combat, Mhow, which is now known as the Army War College, Mhow, for three years.

Khanna eventually rose to the rank of Major, however, he voluntarily retired from the Indian Army in 1965.

His retirement came into effect on 17 July 1965.

Khanna stated that his reasons for seeking premature retirement were that he saw no future prospects for himself within the army and that he had domestic concerns.

After retiring from the army, Khanna began his business career.

Khanna started his business career after voluntarily retiring from the Indian Army in 1965.

His initial business interests were in the import and export of various goods and products.

These included importing brass strips, bronze wires, speciality steel products, machinery, machine tools, taper roller bearings and oils, and exporting semi-precious stones, silver jewellery and textiles.

In 1967, Khanna founded Dynamic Sales Service International (DSSI), which was a diverse commodities trading and marketing company.

In the 1970s, Khanna, through his company DSSI, also developed business relations with companies in the United States.

Officials from the U.S Embassy in New Delhi and representatives from both the United States Department of Commerce and United States Department of State would regularly meet and communicate with him as well.

In 1971, the company started importing newsprint from Canada to India.

Khanna was allegedly one of the largest and most powerful arms dealers in India since the 1980s, however, the allegations levelled against him were never proven and the cases against him were dropped.

Despite the lack of evidence against Khanna, allegations of being an arms dealer, being linked to foreign defence companies and allegations of being involved in various arms deals in India persisted throughout his business career.

He was noted by the Government of India and Indian investigative agencies for being a powerful and influential person, both in India and globally.

Khanna died on 7 November 2019, in New Delhi.

His business interests were divided between his children: Vinita, Navin, Arvind and Aditya.