New Delhi: The alleged scam in a Rs 3600 crore defence helicopter deal with an Italian firm on Tuesday took a new turn with its chief being arrested in Milan, prompting the government here to order a CBI probe.
“Giuseppe Orsi, the head of Italian defence and aerospace giant Finmeccanica, was arrested on Monday in relation to a probe into international corruption. He is suspected of involvement in the payment of bribes regarding the sale to the Indian government of 12 helicopters produced by Finmeccanica’s subsidiary AgustaWestland,” Italian news agency Ansa said.
Prosecutors suspect that around 50 million euros (Rs 362 crore approximately), about 10 per cent of the deal were ploughed back into kickbacks to ensure AgustaWestland won the contract, the agency reported.
In February 2010, India had inked the deal to acquire the 12 three-engine AW-101 helicopters from AgustaWestland for IAF’s elite Communication Squadron, which ferries around the President, PM and other VVIPs.
Soon after the news of arrest reached here today, Defence Minister A K Antony ordered a CBI probe into the deal.
The Ministry said it had sought information from governments of Italy and UK but “no specific inputs” were received substantiating the allegations. “Since no specific input has been received from the two governments, the Ministry of Defence has decided to refer the case to CBI for inquiry,” Defence Ministry spokesman said.
The Italian firm had pipped American Sikorsky to bag the crore deal, which was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security despite initial objections from the finance ministry. The deal has been under the scanner for more than a year now after Italian media reports suggested the arrest of two alleged middlemen in Europe for paying bribes to secure it.
The first three of the 12 AgustaWestland VVIP choppers have already arrived in India and the rest are expected to be supplied to the IAF by the middle of next year.
After the arrest, the Italian firm said in a statement that “Finmeccanica expresses support for its Chairman and CEO, with the hope that clarity is established quickly, whilst reaffirming its confidence in the Judges.”
It added, “With reference to the precautionary measures issued today towards the Chairman and CEO of Finmeccanica and the CEO of the controlled Company AgustaWestland, Finmeccanica confirms that operating activities and ongoing projects of the Company will continue as usual.”
The CEO, who had known he was under investigation over the case for months, denied any wrongdoing before his arrest and said he would only resign his post if asked to do so by the Italian government, ANSA news agency reported.
Police searched Orsi’s home and the defence contractor’s offices in Milan on Tuesday, it said. (PTI)
