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 Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a supplementary charge sheet in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland scam against former defence secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and four Indian Air Force personnel, officials said Wednesday.
Shah said the 'friendship' between Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the deal, and Congress' top leadership is 'time tested and deep'.
The bribery scandal involving AgustaWestland's VVIP helicopter deal threatens to corner the Congress party and cast a shadow on India's latest $10 billion defence deal with Dassault for 126 Rafale fighter aircraft. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Christian Michel's investigation in New Delhi has revealed nothing substantial, contrary to the expectations of the prime minister and the media hype. A fascinating excerpt from Raju Santhanam's The Untold Story of Christian Michel and Agustawestland.
For a man revered for his probity, Defence Minister A K Antony was caught napping when bribes were paid over the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal. With the UPA government staring at another scam, nothing it seems will change, writes Sheela Bhatt.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday
The Minnesota congresswoman, who had courted the evangelical Christian vote and was briefly the front-runner back in August, said she had "no regrets"
"I am always being targeted, happy to be targeted," he told reporters while entering Parliament House.
The bench said what is worrying the court is the complexity of trial as there are over 250 witnesses in the case and the co-accused government officials have been granted bail for want of sanction for prosecution.
Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala's second-half goals sent Germany into the Euro 2024 quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Denmark on Saturday after their last-16 clash was delayed by thunderstorm.
Saini was accused of demanding bribes from Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman, to favour the company during field evaluation trials held in 2010, officials said.
Real Madrid fought back from two goals down as Vinicius Jr grabbed a hat-trick in a thrilling 5-2 win over visitors Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
"I want to know from the Congress as to why it is agitated and telling lies repeatedly. Is it because there is no Quattrocchi mama or Christian Michel in defence deals done by the BJP government," Modi said.
French hospitality at its best at a state dinner in honour of China's President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at Elysee Palace, Paris.
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.
'A thief sees a thief in everyone,' he said in an apparent swipe at the prime minister.
He also said that Bharatiya Janata Party MP Subramanian Swamy has not lied about the deal but it seems he has been misled.
One of the alleged middlemen in the VVIP chopper scam had asked a contact in India to target UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the then NSA MK Narayanan to bag the deal, according to a document submitted in Italian court.
Surjewala statement comes after some media reports claimed that investigators questioning the suspected middleman in the 'chopper kickbacks' case were trying to extract a false confession from him that he personally knew Gandhi at the time the AgustaWestland chopper deal was finalised.
Nitin Gokhale, national security expert and founder BharatShakti.in, tells us what the controversy is all about.
Enforcement Directorate on Thursday questioned former Indian Air Force Air Marshal Gautam Nayyar in connection with its money laundering probe in the multi-crore AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal.
Noting the urgency and desire on the part of India to extradite people accused of corruption, the UK on Friday said a "legal process" is on in Vijay Mallya's matter and it has to be followed through as there cannot be any shortcut. In May last year, the fugitive businessman lost his appeals in the British Supreme Court against his extradition to India to face money laundering and fraud charges. Asked when can Mallya be extradited to India and if some kind of legal issue is still pending in the matter, new British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis, without pointing to any particular case, said he recognises the urgency, importance and the desire to get back people who are accused of corruption to India.
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'.
Carlo Valentino Ferdinando Gerosa, 71, an Italian and Swiss national, was believed to be a key player in the bribery scandal as the process of manipulating the specifications for VVIP helicopter deal allegedly started after a meeting between him and cousins of former Indian Air Force chief S P Tyagi, they said.
Counsels for AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam accused Christian Michel and fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi were also the potential targets of Israeli spyware Pegasus.
'Now I will see how you escape...'
Congress MP Shantaram Naik on Tuesday gave a notice for breach of privilege against Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy in Rajya Sabha.
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.
Swiss authorities have arrested Guido Ralph Haschke, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal, on charges of bribery, Italian media reported.
Sunday's Formula One Grand Prix in Imola, which is close to many of the worst-hit areas, was called off in an effort to relieve pressure on emergency services and prevent motor racing fans from converging on the inundated region.
Congress leader Veerappa Moily stated that the negotiation for Agusta began during former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's regime and all his advisors and defence ministers were involved.
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'.
ED sought his custody for seven days, claiming it had knowledge of unidentified assets which value more than Rs 500 crore and his custodial interrogation was required.
It has registered 2,000-plus money laundering cases and about 12,000 forex violation ones in the 14 years since it was established. Yet, its probes have resulted in no more than 13 convictions from nine cases of money laundering since 2005.
IMAGES from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
With references to politicians and bureaucrats coming up in the chopper scam trial in Italy, the Defence Ministry is expected to seek clarifications on the issue from alleged middleman Guido Haschke during the next hearing of the case there.
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.
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.
Formula One will have a record 24 races next season with Las Vegas making its floodlit debut in November and Monaco signing a new deal to secure its place on the calendar until at least 2025.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances