Agusta Westland Chopper SCAM: What is the AugustaWestland case

AugustaWestland is an Anglo-Italian multinational helicopter design manufacturing comapany and wholly owned by Finmeccania.

The entire scam opened up after the Finmeccania CEO Guiseppe Orsi was arrested by the Italian police as a part of a bribery probe related to the sale of the 12 VIP helicopters to India in 2010.

Orsi was under investigation for the same ever since 2011 when he left Finmeccanica's helicopter unit AgustaWestland in order to become chief executive of the company.

He is accused to have connection with a Rs3,600 crore bribe paid to secure the helicopter contract with India the same year.

2011 was also the time when the Indian government finally woke up to kickstart a probe into the same case, its first step being getting in touch with the Italian government to get a report about the entire scandal. But all was in vain as the Italian authorities refused to cooperate in view of the case being under a judicial probe.

Now, two days after Orsi's arrest, the Indian defence ministry has requested a detailed CBI report into the entire scam.

Defence minister AK Antony has refused comment on the alleged scam until the CBI report is out, even as he has ensured that the guilty will be severely punished.

Antony said he has already blacklisted six companies and would not hesitate "no matter how big the companies are".

Meanwhile, the scam report brought the names of Juli Tyagi, Docsa and Sandeep Tyagi to the forefront linking them as the cousins of former air chief SP Tyagi.

The Italian Investigators name SP Tyagi as a part of a scam and accuse him of tweaking the requirements of the deal. Tyagi has rubbished the charges, stating that the deal was signed in 2010 when he had retired in 2007.

Tyagi however mentioned that he was a part of the deal when it was proposed in 2003, but not after he retired.
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Published: Wednesday, Feb 13, 2013, 12:50 IST
By Hansika Subramanian | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_what-is-the-augustawestland-case_1799505

Agusta Westland Chopper SCAM: Govt ignored BJP leader’s request for probe in Dec

New Delhi: BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar’s letter to defence minister A K Antony seeking a probe into the AgustaWestland chopper deal in December last year had drawn no response while a parliamentary question was also blandly answered.

Almost two months before Antony finally ordered a CBI probe into the chopper deal, Javadekar had pointed to reports that Italian investigations had revealed a €51-million commission paid to a Switzerland-based consultant, Guido Ralph Haschke, to facilitate a deal with India.

Referring to reports in the media, Javadekar said the government did not appear to have begun any formal probe as it was awaiting further information from Italy and UK. “The government by using bilateral relations can seek related information on an urgent basis,” he said.

Stating that names of several Indians had come up in an inquiry report filed in a court in Naples, the MP also referred to taped conversations between Haschke and one Gerosa that he claimed threw light on the nexus to eliminate evidence.

In response to a parliamentary question, Antony had said that it had come to the notice of the ministry of defence through several reports that Italian prosecutors had begun a probe into alleged unethical dealings of Finmeccanica, the parent company of AgustaWestland.

Stating that the ministry of external affairs had taken up the matter with the governments of Italy and UK to access further details, the minister said, “In the absence of any specific information, the government has not started any formal probe in this regard by Indian agencies.”
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Agusta Westland Chopper SCAM: Chopper scam foils Cong bid to shed ‘corrupt’ tag

Party Worried As Charges Coincide With Rahul’s RIse
New Delhi: The VVIP helicopter scam threatens to undo the Congress’s efforts to turn the public gaze away from a string of scandals marring UPA’s second term in office by a renewed focus on governance and leadership ahead of the 2014 elections.

Worry lines were back in evidence with allegations of kickbacks from an Italian firm snowballing and the Congress defending the government by relying on defence minister A K Antony’s “Mr Clean” image and the promptness with which a CBI inquiry has been ordered close on the heels of the arrests in Italy.

The Congress’s reactions, betraying a gnawing worry that the scam could be a setback to the sense of purpose generated by the party’s brainstorming at Jaipur last month that saw Rahul Gandhi take charge as vice-president with another sapping corruption debate looming ahead of Parliament’s Budget session.

The sustained civil society and the Opposition campaign on corruption exposes had paralyzed the Manmohan Singh government and extracted a heavy political cost. It is only recently that the PMO has made concerted efforts to break the debilitating policy logjam by resolving inter ministerial battles over clearances and mandates.

Post-Jaipur, there was a bid to junk the “old ways” of denial and inaction with the Congress left with little more than a year to win back voters who might be turning against the party. The ‘Jaipur chintan’ crystallized the agenda to turn the page.

Now, the concern is that the energizing effect of Rahul’s elevation may again lose momentum as the Centre gets ready for another slugfest with the Opposition.

The graft allegation can shadow the decisiveness the government is looking to project in the context of the recent hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru that was a bid to strip rival BJP of an issue. Insiders fear the chopper row can mar the approaching Parliament session, making it more difficult for finance minister P Chidambaram to lift the gloom with a Budget that was expected to counter the blues.

Things had looked like falling in place for Congress after it successfully blunted saffron aggression on corruption following exposes on BJP chief Nitin Gadkari’s shady business deals. With news coverage moving from scams to saffron bickering, Congress seized the opportunity by effecting a generational change and outlining its future agenda in Jaipur.

In sorry contrast, the Congress on Wednesday appeared to be in firefighting mode again. Party spokesman P C Chacko accused the BJP of resurrecting the corruption bogey to disrupt Parliament despite the Centre having swung into action a year ago when reports of irregularities first surfaced.

“The BJP has nothing in its agenda to oppose the government. So, it is creating the smokescreen of corruption in the helicopter deal (that was initiated by the NDA),” he said, adding, “We want to pin down the BJP propaganda on corruption. So we ordered the CBI inquiry.”

That graft could be a spanner in the works for a larger ‘secular’ consolidation over the BJP’s newfound love for Hindutva in the context of charges of “saffron terror” leveled by home minister Sushilkumar Shinde. The Left bloc launched a strong attack on UPA and demanded the chopper deal be put on hold — areversal of fortunes after Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday threatened to throw the “communists” out of India during the Tripura poll campaign.

That helicopter allegations have followed the leaked telephonic conversation alleging collusion between the public prosecutor and a top corporate accused in the 2G scam, compounding the Congress woes on graft front.
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Agusta Westland Chopper SCAM: CBI starts probe into 3,600-cr VVIP helicopter scandal

New Delhi: The CBI on Wednesday received a formal complaint from the government in the Rs 3,600-crore VVIP helicopter scandal and some documents including primary reports, letters and clippings of Italian media stories. Sources said the agency is likely to register a preliminary enquiry (PE) on Thursday.

The CBI has asked the defence ministry to provide all relevant documents of the deal, mode of payment and list of people in IAF and the ministry who handled the deal.

After registering the inquiry, the CBI will send a ‘source query’ to Italy seeking investigating report, interrogation report of Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi and details of the company.

The agency has approached the Indian mission in Italy to provide documents related to the investigation which is in public domain in case they do not succeed in procuring material through official channels, sources said.

The sources added that the CBI is trying to get the report filed by public prosecutor Eugenio Fusco on the basis of which Orsi was arrested as it could help in zeroing in on Indians who could have been alleged beneficiaries of the bribes.

In February 2010, India had inked the Rs 3,600-crore deal to acquire 12 three-engine AW-101 helicopters from AgustaWestland for IAF’s elite communication squadron, which ferries the President, PM and other VVIPs. The deal came under the scanner of Italian agencies after allegations of kickbacks surfaced.

It is alleged that Orsi, who was CEO of the company when the deal was struck, was involved in giving bribes. Around Rs 362 crore, about 10% of the deal, were allegedly given as bribes to ensure that the company clinched the contract.
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Agusta Westland Chopper SCAM: Ex-NSA tried to avoid single-vendor situation

New Delhi: Was it a bid to prevent a scandal almost a decade ago which has now led to the present VVIP helicopter scam? It was actually the late Brajesh Mishra, the then national security advisor and principal secretary to PM Atal Behari Vajpayee, who in 2003 had directed the MoD and IAF to change the technical specifications for the acquisition of the 12 VVIP helicopters.

“I am concerned that the framing of the mandatory requirements for the new helicopters has effectively led us into a single-vendor situation,’’ Mishra, in his letter of December 22, 2003, to the then IAF chief Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy had said.

“It is unfortunate that neither the PMO nor the Special Protection Group (which provides proximate security to the PM) was consulted while framing these mandatory requirements. I suggest you and the defence secretary may jointly review this matter to draw up realistic requirements satisfying operational, security and convenience requirements for VVIPs,’’ it added.

Top defence ministry sources say this need to avoid a “single-vendor” situation, in consonance with the laid down norms in India’s defence purchases to avoid corruption and other allegations, was the key for subsequent developments.

“Money and bribes could have changed hands...the CBI will probe that. But the technical evaluation process was followed meticulously, as per the directives of the PMO. There were no short-cuts, no tweaking to suit a particular company,” said a source.

It all began in 1999. IAF had then first proposed the replacement for its ageing Russian-origin Mi-8 helicopters, which are still being used by the elite Communication Squadron to ferry around President, PM and other top dignitaries.

The tender or the RFP (request for proposal) for eight new VVIP choppers was subsequently issued in 2002. Of the four vendors that responded, only the Eurocopter EC-225 chopper passed muster as far as the requirement for being capable of flying at an “operational ceiling” of 6,000-metre was concerned. The AW-101, then called the EH-101, could not participate since it was not certified at that time to fly at 6,000-metre.

With only the EC-225 figuring in the subsequent report submitted to the PMO, Mishra raised the question of the single-vendor situation. The SPG also objected to the cabin height of 1.39-metre, holding it was not adequate for the VVIPs and the armed security personnel who would be on board as well as casualty evacuation.

Apart from also not having the missile airborne warning system, the S-92 also failed to meet the requirement for the 4,500-metre service ceiling. The AW-101 sailed its way through the trials to bag the contract finally inked in February 2010.

Top defence ministry sources say the need to avoid a ‘single-vendor’ situation, in consonance with the laid down norms in India’s defence purchases to avoid corruption and other allegations, was the key for subsequent developments
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