Agusta Westland Chopper SCAM: Italian investigators name former IAF chief

New Delhi: Former IAF chief Shashi P Tyagi on Wednesday categorically denied receiving bribes or playing any role in the acquisition of AW-101 choppers, as alleged by an ongoing Italian probe.

In a 64-page report filed in Busto Arsizio city after Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi, AgustaWestland head Bruno Spagnolini and two others were arrested, Italian investigators said the money was routed through alleged middlemen—Guido Haschke, Carlo Gerosa and Christian Michel — to India. “They promised and managed to pay through brothers (Sanjeev) Julie Tyagi, Dosca Tyagi and Sandeep Tyagi money, not yet quantified, to ACM Shashi Tyagi,’’ they said. CHOPPER SHOCKER Not aware that cousins are arms dealers, says Tyagi

The trio named are Air Chief Marshal Tyagi’s cousins. “I am innocent. These allegations are totally baseless. I deny them categorically,” Tyagi told TOI. The technical parameters for the VVIP choppers were “frozen” in 2003-04, much before he became the IAF chief. Moreover, he retired well before the field trials in the project were held in 2008 and the final deal was inked in 2010.

He did admit to having met Carlo at the residence of his three cousin brothers a few times. “I am not aware that my cousins are arms dealers...what I know is that they deal with European companies that want to invest in the power sector in India,” he said.

Defence minister A K Antony said the “strongest” possible action would be taken against any individual, Indian or foreign, and the company concerned if the allegations against them were proved. “Nobody will be spared whatever may be the consequences,” he said. The government also threatened to cancel the deal and blacklist the company if any wrongdoing was established in the case.

The CBI had been told to submit a preliminary report in the case as soon as possible. The agency is likely to lodge the FIR in the case within 24 hours, although its preliminary report may take a couple of months.

The ongoing Italian probe has alleged Italian aerospace and defence giant Finmeccanica bribed ACM (retd) Tyagi, who was the IAF chief from January 2005 to December 2007, to ensure the contract for the 12 three-engine AW-101 helicopters went to its UK-based subsidiary, AgustaWestland. The Italian report alleges that Haschke and Gerosa, through the Tyagi brothers, got the technical specifications in the Indian tender tweaked to ensure AW-101 choppers could qualify in the competition.

For instance, the “operational ceiling”, or the altitude at which the helicopters could operate, was reduced from 18,000 to 15,000 feet. “Then they managed to introduce a comparative flight trial with a non-functional engine for the benefit of the AW-101 helicopters, which were the only ones with three engines,” it said. Antony, on being asked about the names of ACM Tyagi and the then Special Protection Group (SPG) chief and now Goa governor B V Wanchoo surfacing in the case, said he was not in a position to say anything at the moment. “Let the CBI inquire into the matter. Idon’t want to say who is right, who is wrong. I am not a judge, nor the investigating officer,’’ he said.
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Agusta Westland Chopper SCAM: All further payments to AgustaWestland on hold

Firm Accused Of Bribing In 3.5K-Cr Copter Deal
New Delhi: The government on Wednesday put on hold all further payments to AgustaWestland, the UKbased company accused of paying kickbacks in the Rs 3,546-crore deal for VVIP helicopters inked by India in 2010, in a grim bid to contain the political fallout from the fresh scam to have hit the UPA-II government.

AgustaWestland, the subsidiary of Italian military giant Finmeccanica, has also been asked to explain if it had paid any commissions to middlemen in the deal in the light of filings in an Italian court. According to government sources, ministry of defence (MoD) has written to the company asking it to state if it paid any individual or firms any sort of commission in the VVIP helicopter deal. The allegation that bribes were paid to bag the Indian contract marks a violation of the anti-graft “integrity clause” in the country’s defence deals. This is liable to be punished with cancellation of the order, blacklisting of the offender, stiff financial penalty and even criminal prosecution.

The decision to block future payment represented a decisive move, perfectly commensurate with the need to contain the political fallout from the latest scandal to have hit the beleaguered UPA. The Centre has paid up a little over 50% of the payment, and a fresh tranche was set to be released this month. “We have put on hold all future payments until we complete the review of the contract,” said a senior governm- ent official.

Sources said the government has not taken a final decision on stopping deliveries of the remaining nine helicopters — three have already been inducted by the IAF. The next delivery of three helicopters is expected in March, with the remaining six to be delivered by July.

Significantly, however, defence minister A K Antony has stressed that the government would lose no money if it were to scrap the contract. “The Indian government will not lose a single pie. As per the defence procurement procedure and the integrity pact signed with the company, we can even get back the entire money paid to the vendor, apart from making it liable for criminal action,” said

Antony — a statement suggesting that government could travel the whole distance if political considerations required so.

India’s defence secretary Shashikant Sharma asked the Indian ambassador in Italy to formally procure the Italian court documents detailing alleged payment of 51 million euros as kickbacks in the deal for the 12 swank AW-101 helicopters with selfdefence suites.

“We cannot put the deal on hold based on media reports. We need authentic information, so that our interests, financial and military, are not compromised,” a senior official said.

He also pointed out that the government had been seeking formal information from the Indian embassies for long but until now nothing had emerged.

Acquisition of 197 choppers for Army and IAF put off
New Delhi: The fallout of the exploding VVIP chopper scandal claimed its first casualty on Wednesday. The Defence Acquisitions Council chaired by A K Antony deferred a decision to proceed with the acquisition of 197 light utility helicopters for the Army and IAF.

The DAC was to consider the technical oversight committee report on complaints of technical deviations during flight evaluation trials, in which the Russian Kamov Ka-226T was pitted against Eurocopter AS 550 C3 Fennec. But, sources said, it was kept pending due to the ongoing controversy. Italian authorities probing the VVIP chopper deal had claimed that a brigadier had demanded $5m to swing the deal for AgustaWestland. TNN
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Agusta Westland Chopper SCAM: Copter deal like 2nd Bofors scam: BJP

‘How Long Will Govt Protect Bribe-Takers?’
New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday likened the VVIP chopper deal to the “makings of a second Bofors scam,” and asked the government how long it will “protect” bribe-takers. The main Opposition threatened to raise the issue during the Budget session of Parliament, beginning February 21.

The party demanded that the helicopter deal be reviewed and supply of the remaining nine choppers be stopped till all doubts are cleared. “It is a Bofors-like case. When the bribe-giver has been caught, why can’t the bribetaker be identified? Till when will the Indian government protect the bribe-takers?”

“The BJP will raise the issue in the budget session of Parliament and seek a reply from the government to identify who the bribe-takers are and who are protecting them,” leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said.

The party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “There was one gentleman Ottavio Quattrochhi from Italy who was involved in the Bofors scam. Several attempts were made to protect him. This helicopter company is also from Italy. Was this a factor in no probe being conducted in the matter for the past one year?”

Coming down on defence minister A K Antony, saying he should have called the Italian ambassador to discuss reports of financial irregularities in the AugustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, Prasad asked, “Why did Antony not write to the Italian defence minister or send a delegation to Italy to get more details?”

The BJP demanded that the Rs 3,500-crore deal be reviewed and supply of the remaining nine choppers be stopped till the issue is probed thoroughly. Jaitley accused the CBI of trying to “cover up” rather than uncover a case through investigations.

The main Opposition accused Antony of giving an incorrect statement in Parliament about the VVIP chopper deal and said he should clarify.

When pointed out that the decision to acquire these helicopters was taken during the NDA regime, Prasad said, “There are many good initiatives that were taken in the interest of the country by our NDA government, but the following UPA government seems to have found ways to make money from them, like it happened in the case of Commonwealth Games, the opening up of the telecom sector and now the helicopter deal.”

“UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should clarify why there is corruption in every department of this government. There has been a loot in every department — be it telecom, coal or defence,” Prasad said. He maintained that during the UPA’s rule, there have been other discrepancies in defence deals like the supply of Tatra trucks.
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