The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday recorded the statement of former Intelligence Bureau Director and Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan as witness in connection with allegations of bribery in purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from Ango-Italian firm AgustaWestland.
The Central Bureau of Investigation will soon record the statement of former Director, Intelligence Bureau and Governor of Andhra Pradesh E S L Narasimhan as witness in connection with allegations of bribery in purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from Ango-Italian firm AgustaWestland.
Parrikar also took a dig at Congress president Sonia Gandhi, saying translation from Italian was not easy 'at least for the ruling side. May not be a difficult task for the Opposition'.
They said Rajeev Shamsher Bahadur Saxena wanted in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP choppers money laundering case and lobbyist Deepak Talwar wanted by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation in a case of misusing over Rs 90 crore taken through the foreign funding route, were brought in a special plane to Delhi around 1:30 am.
The court asked them to furnish a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh with one surety of the like amount.
After India scrapped its Rs 3,600 crore deal for supplying VVIP choppers, Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland on Friday said that the contract termination notice sent to it does not offer any firm basis for taking any action against it.
Faced with the prospect of the nixing of its Rs 3,600 crore deal for the supply of 12 VVIP choppers, AgustaWestland today denied it had violated any contractual obligations in the pact for the same with IAF.
Nitin Gokhale, national security expert and founder BharatShakti.in, tells us what the controversy is all about.
Rejecting allegations of "non-cooperation", the Central Bureau of Investigation has said that all documents related to AgustaWestland helicopter bribery scandal have been provided to prosecutors in Italy who are contesting the case there.
Saxena, a director of Dubai-based firms UHY Saxena and Matrix Holdings, is one of the accused named in the chargesheet filed by the ED in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland scam.
The court put various conditions on Khaitan, including that he will not tamper with the evidence or try to contact or influence the witnesses and join the investigation as and when called.
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.
Swamy gave notice in the Rajya Sabha for moving Breach of Privilege Motion against Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad over his remarks related to the AgustaWestland issue.
CBI sources said while Air Marshal (Retd) Gujral has been asked to appear for questioning on Saturday, Tyagi will be examined on Monday.
The meeting would be attended by Parrikar, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu, besides others. Parrikar, who met the prime minister on Tuesday, is expected to address the Rajya Sabha at 2 pm during the short duration debate.
Swamy had been instructed by the deputy speaker of the Rajya Sabha that if he failed to do so, his remarks during the Agusta debate would be struck off.
Italian firm Agusta Westland on Monday withdrew its lawsuit from the Delhi High Court filed against India's decision to encash over Rs 250 crore in bank guarantee following the scrapping of the Rs 3600-crore VVIP helicopter deal over bribery allegations.
AgustaWestland, which is surrounded by controversies over the VVIP chopper deal, is appointing Jackie Callicut -- a former British government employee -- as its India head. Callicut has earlier served in India in her capacity as a British government employee. She has also dealt with defence ministry operations in her country, officials said on Monday.
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.
MV Agusta, the Italian exotic superbike maker, is actively looking to launch its bikes in India
The defence ministry has got the 'contract' between AgustaWestland and alleged middleman Christian Michel regarding the controversial VVIP helicopter Rs 3600-crore deal with India.
The commission has also sought records related to the termination of the deal to be presented before it in an in camera proceedings for its perusal before deciding whether they can be disclosed under the RTI Act or they attract its exemption clauses.
Congress MP Shantaram Naik on Tuesday gave a notice for breach of privilege against Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy in Rajya Sabha.
Swaraj Abhiyan leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav in Delhi accused the Raman Singh government of paying $1.57 million (Rs 10 crore) as 'commission' to a company registered in tax-haven British Virginia Islands to procure the chopper.
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The CBI has so far maintained that Gujral was questioned as a witness, but remained tightlipped if he will still retain the same status.
Michel's counsel appeared with the application before Special Judge Arvind Kumar who issued notice to the probe agency and sought its reply by Saturday when he will take up the matter.
He also said that Bharatiya Janata Party MP Subramanian Swamy has not lied about the deal but it seems he has been misled.
The Congress on Monday sought a discussion on the latest report of the CAG, listing alleged irregularities in Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation's KG basin gas project and forced three adjournments in Rajya Sabha in the pre-noon session demanding a response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Moving ahead towards scrapping the Rs 3,600 crore controversial chopper deal, Defence Minister AK Antony on Wednesday said AgustaWestland has "violated the contract" for supplying 12 VVIP choppers for the air force.
Moving ahead towards cancelling the controversial chopper deal, the Defence Ministry on Wednesday said it has issued a final show cause notice to AgustaWestland for "violating" the terms of the Rs 3,600 crore contract for supplying 12 VVIP choppers to the Air Force.
The four-cylinder 998cc engine with an all-hell-breaks-lose figure of 195bhp power and 110Nm torque is likely to blaze on Indian roads by the end of this year, writes Shubhananda Bera.
A special court denied Christian Michel bail in the related Central Bureau of Investigation case.
The deal was "put on hold" only in 2013 after corruption was "proved", he said adding the Congress chief should answer who was behind the delay.
The government vowed to track down the main beneficiaries of the kickbacks so that "we can do" what "we could not do in Bofors
Facing the threat of cancellation of its Rs 3600-crore deal for VVIP choppers, AgustaWestland has asked the government to release its payments saying withholding it was a 'breach of contract'.
The sources said questioning revolved around accounts of IDS Tunisia and remittances received by it.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Roy wanted to know who has taken bribe in the deal to buy 12 VVIP helicopters.
The Anglo-Italian firm said that the defence ministry had no right to unilaterally suspend the contract for the 12 VVIP choppers. The firm added that it has since April been requesting the ministry to hold discussions on the issue, but there has been no response from the government
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in the Lok Sabha that former Air chief S P Tyagi and Gautam Khaitan, both accused in the case, are "small people" who "simply washed their hands in a flowing ganga (of corruption)" and that the government will 'find out where the river was going'.
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