The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday questioned advocate Gautam Khaitan, former board member of Aeromatrix, in connection with the bribery allegations in the Rs 3600-crore VVIP helicopter deal.
Aeromatrix Info Solutions private limited, an accused firm in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal scam, has moved a Delhi court seeking defreezing of its bank account for paying salaries to its employees.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kirit Somaiaya has written a detailed petition to the Central Bureau of Investigation, seeking an investigation into the alleged link between Emmar MGF and AugustaWestland, the British firm embroiled in the VVIP chopper scam.
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday filed its first chargesheet in a Delhi court against businessman Gautam Khaitan and others, including two Italian nationals, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal.
Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday opposed in a Delhi court the bail plea of businessman Gautam Khaitan, arrested in connection with the money laundering case related to Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal, claiming that he was behind the "parking" of alleged kickbacks in the matter.
The former board member of Aeromatrix, which was allegedly used to route bribe amount, denied the payments were part of kick backs to clinch the deal.
Agency sources said in New Delhi on Tuesday that "certain bank accounts of all the Indian accused" named in the FIR have been frozen by CBI.
Defence Ministry A K Antony has asked AgustaWestland to explain within one week its linkages with software companies allegedly used as a cover for paying kickbacks in the VVIP chopper deal.
The focus of the questioning is Tyagi's alleged links with Italian middlemen -- Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschkhe, CBI sources said.
The sources said questioning revolved around accounts of IDS Tunisia and remittances received by it.
Officials said the agency seized a number of documents during the searches from the premises of the firms and entities brought under the action as they were 'connected'.
Italian defence and aerospace major Finmeccanica's former chief Giuseppe Orsi has been sentenced by the Milan appeals court to 4.5 years in jail for false accounting and corruption in the sale of 12 VVIP choppers to India for over Rs 3,600 crore.
He was subjected to a marathon 10-hour questioning on Thursday by ED investigators.
A Delhi court has allowed the plea of two family members of former Indian Air Force chief S P Tyagi, accused in the Rs 3600 crore VVIP helicopter deal scam, to defreeze their bank accounts subject to certain conditions.
Swiss authorities have arrested Guido Ralph Haschke, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal, on charges of bribery, Italian media reported.
The ex-IAF chief was questioned in the same case by CBI for the last three days. This is the first time that the ex-Chief of Staff of the Indian Air Force has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate.
The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday carried out its first arrest in the money laundering probe in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper deal, taking into custody Gautam Khaitan, an ex-board member of an accused company.
The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought response of the Centre and the Enforcement Directorate on the bail plea of businessman Gautam Khaitan, arrested last month in a money laundering case related to the Rs 3,600-crore VVIP chopper deal.
CBI had registered a case against Tyagi along with 13 others including his cousins and European middlemen in the case.
A special court on Monday issued non-bailable warrants against two Italian nationals who were alleged middlemen in Rs 3,600-crore VVIP chopper deal case after ED said they were required to be interrogated to ascertain the money trail.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has sent a letter to the Indian embassy in Italy seeking details on the arrest of Guido Ralph Haschke, the alleged middleman in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, by Swiss authorities.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday questioned former Indian air force Chief S P Tyagi and two others in connection with alleged irregularities in the AgustaWestland helicopter deal.
India has received a fresh tranche of crucial documents from Italy in connection with Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal which is likely to help Central Bureau of Investigation in expediting the probe into the bribery scam allegedly involving the then Indian Air Force chief S P Tyagi.
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday slapped a money laundering case against former Indian Air Force chief SP Tyagi and 20 others in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal to probe alleged kickbacks of Rs.360 crore.
The Enforcement Directorate has filed a fresh charge sheet, delving specifically into the role of British national and alleged middleman Christian Michel James and his few Indian associates, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal.
Nitin Gokhale, national security expert and founder BharatShakti.in, tells us what the controversy is all about.
With an aggressive Opposition and unyielding government, important legislation could be the biggest casualty, as details of the helicopter contract surface.
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