In the thick of allegations of the Rs 3,600 crore scam in the deal of 12 helicopters to India, Italian company Finmeccanica Tuesday said it is ready to cooperate with Indian authorities to clarify the matter.
Govt said that it will take "suitable action" against Finmeccanica.
In the thick of allegations of the Rs 3,600 crore scam in the deal of 12 helicopters to India, Italian company Finmeccanica on Monday said it is ready to cooperate with authorities here to clarify the matter.
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.
The government has already withdrawn the RFP for heavy weight torpedoes for Socrpene submarines which was won by WASS, a Finmeccanica subsidiary, during the United Progressive Alliance regime. The government is now working out the alternatives.
Former Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi was questioned by an Italian magistrate on Wednesday in connection with allegations that kickbacks to the tune of Rs 362 crore were paid in India to bag VVIP helicopter deal.
This is the message Finmeccanica chief Giuseppe Orsi sent along with a bottle of champagne to his rivals American Sikorsky, a day ahead of the award of the Rs 3,600 crore contract in February 2010, according to a report by the Italian investigators.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday met top officials of the Italian government-controlled Finmeccanica group, parent company of AgustaWestland helicopters, who promised assistance in probing bribery allegations against some Indian nationals.
VVIP chopper scandal-hit Italian defence giant Finmeccanica has delayed publication of its 2012 results following the bribery probe into its Rs 3,600 crore deal with India and has increased the number of members in its surveillance body.
The agency questioned him on various aspects of the case including his alleged links with middlemen, his alleged trips to Italy, reasons behind changing specifications, and relations with his cousins on Monday, the sources said.
Pakistan has signed a deal with Italy-based aerospace giant Leonardo-Finmeccanica for purchasing an undisclosed number of helicopters for search and rescue operations.
Former Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi, who faces an 'instant trial' in June over allegations of corruption in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal with India, was on Saturday released from jail.
The Congress on Monday alleged that a Chinese national played a 'dubious role' in the Adani Group's activities and asked the government if it was not concerned that the conglomerate may be involving that person in important defence contracts.
Government sources told ANI on Sunday that the ban has been lifted in dealings with the company with conditions. As per the decision, the investigation against the company by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate would continue.
A special court on Saturday granted bail to four former Indian Air Force (IAF) officers in the AgustaWestland chopper deal corruption case after they appeared before it following summons issued on the last date of hearing.
The ED named former Air Force Chief S P Tyagi, his two cousins, lawyer Gautam Khaitan, two Italian middlemen and Finmeccanica in its chargesheet.
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.
The court asked them to furnish a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh with one surety of the like amount.
When the IAF veterans' bail petition came up for hearing, in an unprecedented move, senior serving and retired Air Marshals and Air Vice Marshals rallied behind the accused officers and appeared before the court to give sureties for each, something that has never happened ever before.
Italian prosecutors have "shelved" proceedings against defence major Finmeccannica, the parent firm of AgustaWestland, saying it had nothing to do with the alleged corruption in India's Rs 3,600-crore deal to procure 12 VVIP helicopters, Italian news agency Ansa reported.
Orsi was at the helm of AugustaWestland when the deal was struck and he is suspected of involvement in the payment of bribes.
The Rs 1,700 crore contract is for 98 Blackshark heavyweight torpedoes for the navy's six Scorpene submarines. Ajai Shukla reports
Former Indian Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi, on Wednesday refuted allegations that he was paid bribes to swing a Rs 3,600 crore deal for procuring 12 choppers from Italian firm Finmeccanica to ferry VVIPS. "I am innocent. These allegations are totally baseless and I am denying them categorically. The deal was signed in 2010 whereas I retired in 2007 itself," he said.
The government has withdrawn the tender for purchase of 98 torpedos for Scorpene submarines which a subsidiary of chopper scam tainted Italian defence conglomerate Finmeccanica had won during the UNited Progressive Alliance regime.
Embattled Anglo-Italian helicopter maker AgustaWestland may face a probe in the UK over its 480 million pounds scandal-hit deal with India for the supply of 12 VVIP choppers.
The BJP MP also said that MP said that he will seek breach of privilege proceedings against Ghulam Nabi Azad for "falsely" saying that the UPA had blacklisted Finmeccanica, the manufacturer of AgustaWestland choppers.
Michel may prove to be the missing link in the money trail in the alleged multi-crore scam being probed by the CBI.
The defence ministry has started fresh cost negotiations with the US firm Sikorsky for purchase of 16 multi-role naval helicopters, Lok Sabha was told on Friday.
Along with Tyagi, his cousin Sanjiv alias Julie Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan were also arrested.
He was subjected to a marathon 10-hour questioning on Thursday by ED investigators.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has sought from the defence ministry documents related to the AgustaWestland helicopter deal as it prepares to question suspected beneficiaries about alleged kickbacks received in the Rs 3600 crore deal.
Asserting that middlemen in defence deals provide "extra potential" for corruption, Russia, one of India's biggest defence partners, has said there should be no role for such people when military contracts are being negotiated and signed.
India's dealings with Westland Helicopters, before it merged in March 1999 with Italy's Finmeccanica subsidiary to become AgustaWestland, were technically problematical and politically questionable.
The only way out of the downward spiral of purchases, scams, cancellations and blacklistings is the systematic and relentless indigenisation of defence equipment, says Ajai Shukla
Defending Finmeccanica SpA's jailed ex-chief executive officer Giuseppe Orsi, Italy's three-time former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday said bribes are a necessary part of doing business globally.
United States manufacturer Sikorsky has bagged a Rs 6,000-crore contract for supplying 16 multi-role helicopters to the Indian Navy.
United States manufacturer Sikorsky has bagged a Rs 6,000-crore contract for supplying 16 multi-role helicopters to the Indian Navy.
The Army has asked the defence ministry to investigate the charges that a Brigadier had sought a bribe of Rs 25 crore from AgustaWestland to help it bag the deal for supplying 197 light choppers before taking any decision on the tender.
A high-level team headed by defence ministry's director general (acquisition) today left for Italy to go through the crucial documents and evidence provided to India by the government there in the Rs 362 crore VVIP chopper scam.
Arriving in New Delhi within days of exposure of the Rs 3,600-crore VVIP helicopters scam involving Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland, British Prime Minister David Cameron is likely to be pressed for more information in this regard during his meetings with the leadership on Tuesday.
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