Finance Minister Jaswant Singh has decided to communicate with MPs and VVIPs through e-mail to reduce time and improve efficiency.\n\n\n\n
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 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.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday filed an FIR against former Indian Air Force Chief S P Tyagi and 12 others for alleged cheating and criminal conspiracy in Rs 3600-crore VVIP Helicopter deal.
Stung by the alleged scam in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal, the defence ministry is now busy tweaking the defence procurement policy that it hopes to unveil in mid-April this year.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday quizzed Satish Bagrodia, the industrialist-brother of former Union minister Santosh Bagrodia, who is the chairman of IDS Infotech, one of the suspect companies in the alleged bribery scandal in Rs 3600-crore VVIP chopper deal.
The Enforcement Directorate will begin a full-fledged criminal probe into the alleged kickbacks received in the Rs 3600-crore VVIP chopper deal once prima facie violation of money laundering laws is detected.
Officials from Indian Air Force and Defence Accounts Department will join a special Central Bureau of Investigation team formed to probe the allegation of payment of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal as the investigating agency prepares to examine suspects named in its Preliminary Enquiry.
Bangladesh on Sunday rolled out the red carpet for President Pranab Mukherjee who arrived in Dhaka on a three-day state visit to boost bilateral ties amidst a general strike called by Jamaat-e-Islami to protest conviction of its three top leaders for the 1971 war crimes.
Whether it is the chopper deal, the Kurien case or the anti-rape ordinance, divisions in the Opposition ranks on these issues has eased the pressure on the UPA government, feels Sunita Moga
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.
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 Central Bureau of Investigation has engaged two law firms in Italy for liaisoning with the authorities to get legal assistance in probing the role of Indians in connection with the alleged kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said it will strongly raise in Parliament the allegation of payment of bribes in the VVIP chopper deal and ask for a reply from the government on whether the contract stood scrapped and who were the ultimate beneficiaries.
The upcoming Budget Session of Parliament is set to be stormy with BJP on Monday announcing that it would raise issues like the VVIP chopper deal and Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde's remarks on saffron terror.
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.
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".
Former Finmeccanica Chief Executive Officer Giuseppe Orsi has denied knowing the family of Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi in the ongoing investigations in Italy into the alleged payment of kickbacks of Rs 362 crore for supplying 12 VVIP choppers to India.
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Saturday said that all procedures were followed by the United Progressive Alliance government in the controversial VVIP chopper deal. "I don't think it is right to politicise the issue. It is a matter of national interest. All procedures were strictly followed by the government," he told n journalists accompanying him on a two-day visit to Bangladesh.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday registered a complaint given by the defence ministry to probe alleged kickbacks paid by an Italian firm to clear the Rs 3,600 crore deal for VVIP helicopters.
Under fire over allegations of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal, government on Wednesday asserted that nobody found guilty will be spared and if wrongdoings were found by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the contract can be scrapped.
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.
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.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Monday admitted that "somebody has taken money" in the AgustaWestland chopper deal that is mired by bribery allegations.As the Central Bureau of Investigation probes the bribery allegations into the controversial Rs 3,600 crore deal for the supply of VVIP choppers by the Anglo-Italian firm, Antony vowed that no mercy would be shown to anyone who has taken bribes. It is alleged that the deal involved Rs 362 crore in kickbacks.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday said former Air Chief S P Tyagi and other accused in the case relating to alleged kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal will have to take permission of the agency before leaving the country.
Sonia Gandhi is expected to unveil Congress' strategy on Monday in the backdrop of opposition flak over issues like the VVIP chopper deal, Italian marines and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam threat to pull out of UPA on Sri Lankan Tamils problem.
The government has received the first set of official documents from Italy in connection with the VVIP chopper scam including the warrants issued against former Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi by authorities there.
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 Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday started questioning cousins of former Air Chief S P Tyagi in connection with its ongoing probe into alleged kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal.
Armed with documents from Italy, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday named former air force chief S P Tyagi in its preliminary enquiry into allegations of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal, the second former defence services chief to figure in a scam probe.
Moving forward in its probe into alleged kickbacks in the VVIP helicopter deal, the Central Bureau of Investigation has procured some documents from Italian authorities in Milan that may help it in determining whether any Indian had received bribes to swing the deal in favour of AgustaWestland.
The controversial VVIP chopper scam is set to turn the three-month-long Budget session of Parliament beginning Thursday into a troubled affair for the government with the Opposition raring for an attack eyeing the Lok Sabha polls which are not far away.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday lashed out at the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government for speaking in different tunes over the need to cancel the VVIP chopper deal with AgustaWestland, and said that the main opposition party would like to know is it a cover-up exercise, which has begun.
British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in Mumbai on Monday morning on a three-day India visit during which will he meet captains of industry and hold talks with top leaders, who are likely to seek more information on the VVIP helicopters scam involving an Anglo-Italian firm.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has engaged a lawyer in Italy to represent India's case with the Italian government and the local courts to find out the role of Indians in the alleged kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal.
The Central Vigilance Commission has sought a report from the Defence ministry on alleged irregularities in the controversial Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal with an Italian firm.
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 government on Friday said it was not averse to a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe on the Italian VVIP helicopter deal, a move seen as an attempt to ensure a smooth budget session of Parliament commencing next week.
India on Friday made a fresh request to Italy for information on alleged kickbacks in supply of Rs 3600-crore worth of AgustaWestland's VVIP helicopters.
