Haschke tried to erase key info on Indian links
But Italian prosecutors say they have managed to retrieve crucial details from the middleman’s computer
NEW DELHI Alleged middleman Guido Haschke, who is accused of playing a key role in swinging the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal in Agusta Westland's favour, had "cleaned up" all the documents from his computer, the Italian investigators have said, adding thatthedetailscouldopena"Pandora's box".
But to Haschke's misfortune the documents were retrieved from his computer hard drive along with other papers he had hidden at his mother's home.
Haschke is alleged to have been appointed by former Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi to clinch the deal for AgustaWestland in which 51 million euros (Rs 368 crore) was allegedly paid as kickbacks.
According to reports in the Italian media, the investigators have termed the information found in his computer drives as "Pandora's box" where he has noted details of his appointments, his meetings with Indian intermediaries--inItalyandLugano,Switzerland -- and several international transactions including that of Finmeccanica.
These documents are being used by the prosecutors in the Italian court Tribunale de Busto Arsizio to build their case in fixing responsibilties of several accused including former Finmeccanica chief Giuseppe Orsi for allegedly bribing to bag the Rs 3,600 crore deal.
The prosecutors, in their report, have told the court of Busto Arsizio that they have recovered "computer hard drives of Haschke where the intermediary had recorded the whole story about the sale of helicopters and other business", Italian daily Republica said on Sunday.
"Documents and files that are now on the table of the Prosecutor of Busto Arsizio, Eugenio Fusco, who is trying to rebuild any responsibilities and roles of the protagonists of this 'affair'," it said.
MYSTERIOUS BRITISH MIDDLEMAN
The report has also named Christian Michel, 52, as another key intermediary between the helicopter manufacturer and India's former Air Force Chief SP Tyagi.
According to court documents, Michel, as a consultant to Agusta Westland, had "promised and effectively funnelled, through the cousins Julie Tyagi, Docsa Tyagi and Sandeep Tyagi, sums of money, whose full amount has not been fully quantified, to former SP Tyagi, the head of the Indian Air Force from 2004 to 2007 [...] in order to carry out and for having carried out an act contrary to his official duty”.
An arrest warrant for Giuseppe Orsi,thechiefexecutiveofFinmeccanica, the Italian parent company of the helicopter group, said he had "transmitted to the consultant Michel Christian, the sum of around 30 million euros (roughly Rs 216 crore) , in order in part to carry out corrupt activity with the goal of acquisition of the deal and the execution of the contract".
For a man who is accused of getting the major chunk of the Rs 296 crore in middleman commission by Orsi, Michel has been the most low profile.
According to Italian investigators, Orsi had cut Michel into the deal to the dismay of Haschke and a third middleman Carlo Gerosa, whose company was based in Tunis, according to the public prosecutor's interrogations of Haschke and Lorenzo Borgogni, a former head of external relations department, Finmeccanica.
"There were two contracts, one with Christian Michel and one with Haschke," said Borgogni. "In total they were worth around 41 million euros (roughly Rs 296 crore) in commission".
Carlos is the only one of the three middlemen -- at the centrestage of the Italian investigation into the corrupt deal -- whom former Air Force chief Tyagi has publicly admitted of meeting, but has categorically denied any involvement in the scam. AGENCIES
INDIA HAS NOT CANCELLED THE CONTRACT: AUGUSTAWESTLAND
AugustaWestland issued a statement on Sunday that "the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has not cancelled the contract and has just asked the company to provide clarification on the issue within seven days. The statement comes a day after media reports that the Indian government had initiated the process of cancelling the contract for the VVIP choppers.
INDIA TO PRESS CAMERON
Arriving here within days of exposure of the Rs 3,600-crore VVIP helicopters scam involving Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland, UK Prime Minister David Cameron is likely to be pressed for more information in this regard during his meetings with the leadership on Tuesday. The visit also comes amid reports that India may scrap the contract with AgustaWestland, which may lead to significant job losses in the UK where the helicopters are manufactured.
Courtesy:
Manu Pubby : New Delhi, Mon Feb 18 2013, 01:20 hrs
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=MIRRORNEW&BaseHref=MMIR/2013/02/18&PageLabel=13&EntityId=Ar01300&ViewMode=HTML
No comments:
Post a Comment