The Supreme Court has granted bail to alleged middleman Christian Michel James in the purported Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland case. James had been in custody for six years while the investigation was ongoing. The alleged scam relates to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland. James, a British national, was extradited from Dubai in December 2018.
The ED named former Air Force Chief S P Tyagi, his two cousins, lawyer Gautam Khaitan, two Italian middlemen and Finmeccanica in its chargesheet.
India has been made a party in the VVIP chopper scam trial in Italy which is expected to begin in the third week of June. The Indian side is in the process of hiring a law firm there to present its case in the Italian trial procedures, government sources said.
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.
Along with Tyagi, his cousin Sanjiv alias Julie Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan were also arrested.
Others named in the chargesheet include alleged European middlemen in the deal, Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschke.
The Bharatiya Janata Party plans to target Sonia Gandhi and other Congress leaders on the issue of bribes in the AgustaWestland chopper deal during the United Progressive Alliance regime
The defence ministry has handed over some documents received from an Italian court to the Central Bureau of Investigation to verify if there was any breach of contractual obligations by Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland in the Rs 3,600 crore deal for 12 helicopters, official sources said on Tuesday.
Officials said Michel's driver, Narayan Bahadur, was questioned at length by ED sleuths in the last few days.
Two Indian associates of alleged middleman Christian Michel James were on Saturday granted bail by a special court in a money laundering case relating to the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal.
Officials said the agency has sought property details on ten serving and retired officials of the ministry of defence and the IAF.
Nitin Gokhale, national security expert and founder BharatShakti.in, tells us what the controversy is all about.
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.
An Italian court, hearing the VVIP chopper deal scam case, has rejected India's request for documents related to the investigations into the matter, arguing that the "information is covered by secrecy".
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.
Though Antony did not name the IAF chief in his reply, former Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi's role in the deal is being inquired by the CBI. Tyagi's bank account was recently frozen by the investigative agency and he was also questioned by them.
Government is awaiting a report from its embassy and team in Italy to get a final picture on whether Defence Minister A K Antony has been listed as a witness in the VVIP chopper scam trial by a court there.
Facing the prospect of cancellation of its Rs 3,600 crore deal to supply 12 VVIP choppers to the IAF, AgustaWestland has sought a meeting with the defence ministry to explain its stand on the issue.
Claiming to be innocent, he said he might have some information which could enable the Indian authorities to progress with their probe into the scandal.
Ex-IAF chief S P Tyagi will undergo further custodial questioning for three more days as the Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday told a court that AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam was a "very serious" case requiring his interrogation to unearth the larger conspiracy as the "interest of the nation was compromised".
The ED also told the special court that Christian Michel had spoken about 'the son of the Italian lady' and how he is going to become the 'next prime minister of the country'.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied bail to Christian Michel James, an alleged middlemen in the AgustaWestland chopper scam cases, who is being probed by both the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate.
The AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal will once again dominate the proceedings in Parliament on Thursday.
After the agency's submission, all the three accused moved their bail applications, which will be heard on December 21 as the CBI sought time to reply to the applications.
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.
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.
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.
After India scrapped a contract for procuring VVIP choppers from AgustaWestland, American firm Textron on Friday said it is ready to offer its unique V-22 Osprey helicopter to India for ferrying its dignitaries.
He was subjected to a marathon 10-hour questioning on Thursday by ED investigators.
Terming Parrikar's address to Rajya Sabha as one of the best speeches, the prime minister said that the Union Minister displayed the "best parliamentary traditions".
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday sought "clarification" from Defence Minister A K Antony as to why the "Family" mentioned in middleman Guido Haschke's statement before an Italian court in the VVIP chopper deal case is being given "another meaning".
The court asked them to furnish a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh with one surety of the like amount.
He also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "silence" on the issue.
A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to former defence secretary Shashi Kant Sharma in a case related to the AgustaWestland chopper scam.
The Central Bureau of Investigation team which reached Italy on Tuesday to probe role of Indians in the alleged Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal scam met its lawyer and described the meeting as "useful."
CBI had registered a case against Tyagi along with 13 others including his cousins and European middlemen in the case.
In his plea, Michel said the investigation regarding him was over and no useful purpose would be served by keeping him in further incarceration.
Taking a jibe at Gandhi over her remarks on Wednesday that she does not fear anybody, Shah said she is "right" and that is why such "scams" keep coming out in the open.
Though the deal was inked in 2008, the process had started much earlier.
In an off-shoot of VVIP helicopter deal scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against a Brigadier attached to Army Aviation for allegedly fudging trial flight records of the copters.
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