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Ex-IAF chief SP Tyagi named! Tough most task for CBI team probing chopper deal!
Ex-IAF chief SP Tyagi named! Tough most task for CBI team probing chopper deal!
Palash Biswas
Mobile: 919903717833
Skype ID: palash.biswas4
Email: palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday named former Air Force Chief SP Tyagi in a preliminary enquiry (PE) on allegations of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal. This is the second instance when a former services chief has been named in a CBI inquiry. Former Admiral Sushil Kumar was named in a CBI case to probe alleged kickback in purchase of Barak missiles in early 2000. However, Sanjeev Tyagi had earlier rubbished charges of having received kickbacks in the VVIP chopper deal, saying it was an ‘absolute lie’ even as he admitted having met one of the middlemen 17 years back regarding a power sector deal. In a report filed by Italian investigators on the AgustaWestland defence chopper deal in Italy, the three Tyagi brothers - Julie, Docsa and Sanjeev - are alleged to have received kickbacks from middlemen.
Apart from the ex-Air Force chief, his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi, ten other persons and four companies have also been named in the CBI’s PE. The sources said suspected European middlemen Carlo Garosa, Christian Michel and Guido Haschkhe, advocate Gautam Khaitan formerly associated with Aeromatrix and its CEO Praveen Bakshi, former Finmeccanica Chairman Giuseppe Orsi, former AgustaWestland CEO Bruno Spagnolini have also been named. Italian companies Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland, IDS Infotech and Aeromatrix also figure in the PE, they said. In its PE, registered to probe kickbacks in the 12 AW-101 VVIP/VIP helicopters from AgustaWestland deal, CBI will investigate allegations that some "middlemen have influenced the deal in favour" of the Italian company.
Tough most task for CBI team probing chopper deal!Presidential immunity has blocked the investigation at home while specialized personnel involved in the deal have ensured security umbrella enough to dismiss all hue and cry.The result may be predestined as it has always been in the past.Joshy Joseph pointed out in times of India that Guido Haschke, the Swiss resident who was allegedly one of the key middlemen in the VVIP helicopter deal with India, almost sounds like a global consortium with several specializations across the globe in the internal documents of Finmeccanica group. Or was he a key conduit for funneling out money from the Italian group`s various companies? According to internal documents of Finmeccanica group reviewed by TOI, Haschke and his companies were paid at least 2.65 million euros (approx Rs 18.55 crore) between 2005 and 2011 for several activities across several countries. These are besides the payments that were made to companies such as IDS Infotech and Aeromatrix, and other front companies. Mind you, the timeline hits exactly the presidential immunity at home which may not be broken any way under present corporate political circumstances.
Moving forward in its probe into alleged kickbacks in the VVIP helicopter deal, the CBI has procured some documents from Italian authorities in Milan that may help it investigating whether any Indian had received bribes to swing the deal in favour of AgustaWestland.
Highly-placed sources in the probe agency said on Sunday that one of the members of the CBI team who returned this morning from Milan had got some of the documents from the Italian prosecutor regarding the controversial Rs 3,600 crore deal which would be examined in the next couple of days.
CAG is likely to submit reports on several issues like AgustaWestland helicopter deal, Airport Metro Express Line project and farm loan waiver of PSU banks in Budget session.
Government auditor CAG is likely to submit about half a dozen reports on a slew of issues, including AgustaWestland helicopter deal, Airport Metro Express Line project and farm loan waiver of PSU banks, in the ongoing Budget session of Parliament.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), according to sources, is also readying the performance report on Centre's key flagship programme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme andNational Disaster Management Authority.
These reports are likely to be submitted in the first half of the Budget session, which began with the President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament on February 21. As per the schedule, the first half will end on March 22.
CAG Vinod Rai had already indicated earlier that the official auditor was looking into AgustaWestland helicopter deal of over Rs 3,600 crore.
The VVIP chopper deal has become a major controversy with Italian authorities probing the possibility of Rs 362 crore kickback being paid for the contract. Indian government has already initiated a CBI inquiry into the deal.
The other controversial issue relates to operation of the Airport Metro Express Line, which is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project between DMRC, Reliance Infrastructure and a Canadian firm.
Operations on the Airport Metro Line were suspended for a period between July 8, 2012 and January 21, 2013, as flaws were detected in the civil structure of the line.
With regard to the over Rs 50,000 crore farm debt-waiver scheme, the CAG is understood to have pointed out irregularities in implementation of the popular scheme. The Reserve Bank has already directed banks to recover funds paid to non-beneficiaries.
Big questions that are now casting a doubt over the CBI investigations in the deal are:
1. Did the Tyagi brothers get the 28 million euros mentioned in the Italian probe report, or did someone else get the real share?
2. Is there any proof of Tyagis' involvement beyond Haschke's alleged confessions?
3. Are there other Indians who benefitted with kickbacks?
4. Has CBI filed the PE under pressure or can it really establish the money trail?
AugustaWestland, the Anglo-Italian firm, which is under the scanner for 3600-cr VVIP choppers deal, has responded to the bribery allegations being levelled against it, and said that India can’t scrap the deal as the matter is still being investigated by the authorities in Italy.
The defence ministry will consider the reports of its joint secretary and the CBI team which had gone to Italy to probe charges of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal before taking a final decision on scrapping the contract with Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland.
The ministry is also reviewing the reply to its show-cause notice by AgustaWestland which has denied paying any bribes to bag the contract.
Replying to a showcause notice issued by the Indian Defence Ministry on why the choppers deal shouldn’t be revoked in light of the bribery charges, the Italian firm had issued a letter duly signed by its Managing Director Raymond Edwards, which enlists the firm’s justifications over the chopper deal.
The letter that has been accessed by a leading TV news channel says that India cannot revoke a deal based on mere media reports as Italian investigations are at a "pre-trial phase" and that charges have not been "tested in court."
Denying any claims of wrongdoings, the firm has stressed in the letter that the deal was signed in a transparent manner.
The firm says that it bagged the contract following a comprehensive technical and flight evaluation of competing types performed by the IAF in accordance with the Defence Procurement Procedures.
The Indian government has already contacted the Italian authorities over the charges that huge kickbacks were paid by the Italian defence firm and is reportedly mulling over cancellation of the deal.
It has been alleged that that the firm AW paid about nearly 350 crores as kickbacks to Indian officials, including former Indian Air Force Chief SP Tyagi.
Indian Defense Ministry will take a decision on deal cancellation after reviewing the reply by AgustaWestland.
The news is less than encouraging for the Indians even from the Defence Ministry, with AgustaWestland denying, in response to a show cause notice served against them, any kind of unfair practice. CBI will have to ascertain whether these money charts, as prepared by the Italians, really show the money being diverted into India or not.
It is also learnt that Italian company Finmeccanica paid a commission of seven million Euros (about Rs 50 crore) to the middlemen out of which huge sums were transferred to seven Indian nationals through Tunisia and Mauritius, the PE said.
The money was sent in the garb of of engineering contracts with two Indian companies -- IDS Infotech and Aeromatrix, it said.
The team of CBI officials which returned from Italy with some documents from Finmeccanica and public prosecutor found enough material in them to start its probe in Rs 362 crore alleged payoffs in the helicopter deal, they said.
All the suspects named by the CBI in its Preliminary Enquiry have denied allegations of kickbacks in the deal.
The sources said that they are likely to be called for questioning in connection with the case.
The CBI registered the PE on the basis of documents which the agency managed to procure from Italy yesterday.
Highly-placed sources in the agency said one of the members of the CBI team who returned from Milan on Sunday had got some documents from Italian prosecutors on the controversial Rs 3,600 crore deal.
The Italian agencies on February 15 arrested Orsi, former Chairman of the Finmeccanica, parent company of AgustaWestland, on charges of paying the bribe for the contract.
The investigation report by Italian prosecutor had claimed that Hashcke and Gerosa, through the Tyagi brothers, who in turn through their cousin SP Tyagi, managed first to change the tender details, in a way to favour, modifying the 'operational ceiling' from 18,000 to 15,000 feet of altitude, thus allowing AgustaWestland spa (which otherwise could not have even submitted an offer) to take part in the tender.
The report also claimed that the duo managed to introduce a comparative flight trial with non-functional engine, thus facilitating AgustaWestland helicopters, the only ones which had three engines, swinging the deal in its favour.
It alleged payments were made to Hashcke and Gerosa through a consultancy contract between AW spa and Gordian Services Sarl and an amount of 400,000 Euros (about Rs 2.8 crore). Out of this amount 100,000 Euros (Rs 72 lakh) were paid in cash to the Tyagi brothers (Julie, Docsa and Sandeep).
Bhupendra Chaubey, CNN-IBN writes:The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday named former Air Chief SP Tyagi in its Preliminary Enquiry (PE) in the tainted AgustaWestland chopper deal, along with his cousins Julie and Dosca Tyagi and three key middlemen, as alleged beneficiaries of kickbacks. According to the Italian probe report, Gautam Khaitan and Praveen Bakshi were the two individuals who were used to route money into India.CBI will be probing their role as well. Other names mentioned in the PE include Giuseppe Orsi, CEO of Finmeccanica, which is the parent company of AgustaWestland, and Bruno Spagnolini, former CEO Finmeccanica. It also names Guido Haschke, the key middleman who was handling money for the Indians, Carlo Gerosa, who was Hasckey's partner in the VVIP chopper deal and Christian Michel, who holds the key to the entire AgustaWestland deal and allegedly made Rs 217 crores in the deal.
CBI has also included companies involved in the deal in its PE, which are Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland, IDS Infotech and chandigarh-based Aeromatrix. However, the nature of the documents that the CBI has based its PE on is still not clear.
Italy had earlier refused to part with any evidence. Any document procured from outside has to be done through Letters Rogatory in order for it to be admissible in an Indian Court.
Italian PM assures 'correct governance' of Finmeccanica
ROME: Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has said that his government would guarantee the "correct governance" of state-controlled defence firm Finmeccanica following arrest of its chief executive on corruption charges in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal with India.
"The government was able to intervene with some measures to guarantee the correct governance of the company and the whole group," Monti said.
The prime minister had earlier promised to do "whatever necessary to clean up" Finmeccanica.
He also assured that the prosecution would do its duty in the case of Finmeccanica's jailed ex-chief executive officer Giuseppe Orsi.
"I am sure that the prosecution in this case will do its duty as in other similar cases," he told reporters.
Orsi on arrested by Italian agencies on Tuesday as part of their probe related to international corruption in a case involving the payment of bribes in the Rs 3,600 crore deal for 12 VVIP helicopters to India.
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 the President, PM and other VVIPs.
The deal came under the scanner of Italian agencies after allegations of kickbacks given in India surfaced.
Finmeccanica, Italy's biggest defence contractor, appointed Alessandro Pansa as the new CEO to succeed Orsi.
Earlier, economy minister Vittorio Grilli had said that his ministry was working to make sure that Finmeccanica adopts a system of governance that provides management continuity, protects shareholders' interests and guarantees transparent decision-making.
RAKESH K SINGH | NEW DELHI
he CBI is yet to probe the role of notorious arms lobbyist Abhishek Verma and Defence Ministry officials who overlooked clear-cut violation of procurement norms in the acquisition of VVIP helicopters
by the Indian Air Force from AgustaWestland.
Incidentally, Verma’s company Ganton India had entered into an agreement with Italian defence major Finmeccanica’s subsidiary AgustaWestland for clinching a deal with the Delhi Police for the supply of helicopters for the Commonweatlh Games, 2010.
Nothing has so far emerged to show Verma’s direct complicity in the VVIP chopper deal, but his interrogation could throw light on the operation of the AgustaWestland in swinging defence deals in India.
The AgustaWestland’s proposal for the Delhi Police was subsequently scrapped but the formal agreement between the Italian company and Ganton India provided insights into the working of the arms dealers as well as corrupt practices of Finmeccanica’s subsidiary.
The CBI is in possession of the “consulting agreement” between Verma and AgustaWestland for the sale of helicopters for use by the Delhi Police during the CWG, 2010. Estranged partner of Verma and US attorney
C Edmond Allen had furnished a copy of the MoU along with other sensitive materials relating to defence acquisitions in India to the CBI, but the agency did not act in right earnest.
The controversial agreement dated August 7, 2009 between the Italian firm and Ganton India detailed the percentage of bribes to be paid by Agusta to Verma in case the negotiation for securing the deal for sale of AW 119, 109 and AW 139 helicopters for the Delhi Police was successful with his “cooperation.” The agreement was valid till June 30, 2010.
The commission amount for the fully equipped helicopter was fixed at eight per cent of the negotiated value for the chopper. On spare parts sold together with the
helicopters as initial package and maintenance for the first two years, the two parties
had agreed for a 15 per cent commission.
“In case of finalisation of the sale, you will provide Agusta the necessary assistance in the implementation of the sale contract until the payment of the full contract price has been cashed by Agusta,” the agreement said.
It further said, “You will provide the Commercial Department of Agusta with periodical reports about the status and other necessary information concerning the projects assigned to with this agreement.”
During the course of probe into the case relating to payments made by Swiss defence firm Rheinmetall AG to Verma for removal of blacklisting proceedings and the OSA case, the CBI had questioned the notorious arms dealer regarding the MoU with Agusta.
Verma claimed that the agreement was restricted to deal for procurement of helicopters by Delhi Police and the agency relied on his claims, speaking volumes about the functioning of the premier investigating agency.
Verma was arrested for the first time in a defence related case in 2006 by the CBI. The case pertained to leakage of documents related to price of various warships the Navy wanted to acquire and these documents were leaked from Naval war room in South Block in 2005. The case, later came to be known as Naval War room case, was handed over to the CBI and it found that Verma was receiving the information about the prices and used to pass it on to arms dealers and weapons manufacturing companies. He was arrested in 2006 under the Official Secrets Act and granted bail after a few months.
Incidentally, a retired Navy commander Ravi Shankaran, a nephew of the then Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash, is evading arrest till date and is in the UK. The CBI has now sought his extradition as the case is still going on. The Navy had sacked three commanders Vijender Rana, VK Jha and Captain Kashyap Kumar for leaking information.
Verma was arrested the second time late last year after Allen wrote letters to Defence Minister AK Antony, CBI and Enforcement Directorate that Verma was leaking classified defence documents mostly pertaining to deals to arms dealers.
Allen had written this letter in early 2012 along with photocopies of various deals allegedly leaked by Verma. Following this, Antony asked the CBI and ED to look into the allegations. A team of Enforcement Directorate also went to New York to meet the attorney, who according to some reports at one point of time used to handle Verma’s money in the US, to gather information. The CBI then arrested him again under the Official Secrets Act, and Verma, along with his Romanian wife, is yet to come out of Tihar Jail.
Following Allen’s allegations, CBI also booked Verma for receiving bribes by Swiss firm Rheinmetall for removing blacklisting proceedings against it and a case for forging Congress leader Ajay Maken’s official letterheads.
CBI Director Ranjit Sinha did not reply to a text message by The Pioneer when asked why the agency was reluctant in registering either a Preliminary Enquiry or a Regular Case in the chopper scam. He also did not answer if an RC could have enabled it to seek probe documents through judicial channels by sending Letters Rogatory.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/home/online-channel/360-todays-newspaper/129411-cbi-goes-soft-on-verma-link.html
AgustaWestland entered into three consultancy agreements between December 2005 and September 2007 with Haschke in India.
NEW DELHI: Security services in Algeria, commercial promotions in India, supply of specialized personnel in the Middle East and more.
Guido Haschke, the Swiss resident who was allegedly one of the key middlemen in the VVIPhelicopter deal with India, almost sounds like a global consortium with several specializations across the globe in the internal documents ofFinmeccanica group. Or was he a key conduit for funneling out money from the Italian group`s various companies?
According to internal documents of Finmeccanica group reviewed by TOI, Haschke and his companies were paid at least 2.65 million euros (approx Rs 18.55 crore) between 2005 and 2011 for several activities across several countries. These are besides the payments that were made to companies such as IDS Infotech and Aeromatrix, and other front companies.
The documents point towards an extremely cozy relationship between the Italian-US citizen and the consortium. It also shows the blessings enjoyed by Haschke from the Finmeccanica top brass, especially former chairman Giuseppe Orsi, which emerges in the several taped conversations between Hashcke and other suspects during the ongoing Italian probe.
Without such a considerate approach from Finmeccanica, he couldn`t have won so many diverse contracts. There is no clear indication yet that Haschke and his companies had all these capabilities shown in the contracts.
India definitely was his main playground. Haschke had several contracts with Finmeccanica group companies in India at least until March 2012 when details of the scandal began to emerge in Italian media. Investigations show that Haschke and his companies handled kickbacks of 21 million euros in the Rs 3,546 crore deal for buying 12 VVIP helicopters for the IAF in 2010. Christian Michel, a UK citizen based in Dubai, handled another 30 million euros in kickbacks, according to Italian investigators.
AgustaWestland entered into three consultancy agreements between December 2005 and September 2007 with Haschke in India. According to a report submitted to the Finmeccanica board after the scandal broke, these were "concerning scouting for the sale of civilian helicopters in India, for which fees totalling 400,000 euros were paid". The report told the board, "Those agreements have no connection with the subsequent supply of the 12 helicopters discussed" in the controversy.
Alenia Aermacchi, the aerospace arm of Finmeccanica, paid Haschke 300,000 euros in financial year 2011-12 under what is called a "service agreement". It is not clear what specific services Haschke provided to the company, which is pitching its C-27J transport aircraft to the Indian military.
Another Finmeccanica company OtoMelara, which is looking to supply its land and naval systems to Indian forces, had a "service agreement" with Haschke in the 2011-12 financial year for 58,000 euros. Ansaldo Energia, the power engineering company of Finmeccanica group, entered into two commercial support contracts and one contract for the supply of specialized personnel with Haschke in India. Under a contract signed on June 15, 2006, he was paid 202,000 euros for "acquisition of an order from a private Indian party". A second contract dated January 15, 2011 was for supply of spare parts for a plant in India, with a fee of 249,000 euros.
Ansaldo Breda, which is into road and rail systems, entered into a commercial promotion contract in India from November 1, 2008 to October 31, 2009, and paid Haschke 120,000 euros. Haschke`s contracts with Finmeccanica group companies were not just limited to India.
Ansaldo Energia, through its Abu Dhabi branch, had a contract for "specialized personnel" for assembly and work site activities in the Middle East and North Africa with Haschke. The agreement started from January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2006 at an annual cost of 600,000 euros. Ansaldo Energia also had a contract with Haschke for security services for a work site in Algeria during 2007-2010, and he was paid a total fee of 1.14 million euros.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Copter-deal-fixer-specializes-in-India/articleshow/18668489.cms
Palash Biswas
Mobile: 919903717833
Skype ID: palash.biswas4
Email: palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday named former Air Force Chief SP Tyagi in a preliminary enquiry (PE) on allegations of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal. This is the second instance when a former services chief has been named in a CBI inquiry. Former Admiral Sushil Kumar was named in a CBI case to probe alleged kickback in purchase of Barak missiles in early 2000. However, Sanjeev Tyagi had earlier rubbished charges of having received kickbacks in the VVIP chopper deal, saying it was an ‘absolute lie’ even as he admitted having met one of the middlemen 17 years back regarding a power sector deal. In a report filed by Italian investigators on the AgustaWestland defence chopper deal in Italy, the three Tyagi brothers - Julie, Docsa and Sanjeev - are alleged to have received kickbacks from middlemen.
Apart from the ex-Air Force chief, his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi, ten other persons and four companies have also been named in the CBI’s PE. The sources said suspected European middlemen Carlo Garosa, Christian Michel and Guido Haschkhe, advocate Gautam Khaitan formerly associated with Aeromatrix and its CEO Praveen Bakshi, former Finmeccanica Chairman Giuseppe Orsi, former AgustaWestland CEO Bruno Spagnolini have also been named. Italian companies Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland, IDS Infotech and Aeromatrix also figure in the PE, they said. In its PE, registered to probe kickbacks in the 12 AW-101 VVIP/VIP helicopters from AgustaWestland deal, CBI will investigate allegations that some "middlemen have influenced the deal in favour" of the Italian company.
Tough most task for CBI team probing chopper deal!Presidential immunity has blocked the investigation at home while specialized personnel involved in the deal have ensured security umbrella enough to dismiss all hue and cry.The result may be predestined as it has always been in the past.Joshy Joseph pointed out in times of India that Guido Haschke, the Swiss resident who was allegedly one of the key middlemen in the VVIP helicopter deal with India, almost sounds like a global consortium with several specializations across the globe in the internal documents of Finmeccanica group. Or was he a key conduit for funneling out money from the Italian group`s various companies? According to internal documents of Finmeccanica group reviewed by TOI, Haschke and his companies were paid at least 2.65 million euros (approx Rs 18.55 crore) between 2005 and 2011 for several activities across several countries. These are besides the payments that were made to companies such as IDS Infotech and Aeromatrix, and other front companies. Mind you, the timeline hits exactly the presidential immunity at home which may not be broken any way under present corporate political circumstances.
Moving forward in its probe into alleged kickbacks in the VVIP helicopter deal, the CBI has procured some documents from Italian authorities in Milan that may help it investigating whether any Indian had received bribes to swing the deal in favour of AgustaWestland.
Highly-placed sources in the probe agency said on Sunday that one of the members of the CBI team who returned this morning from Milan had got some of the documents from the Italian prosecutor regarding the controversial Rs 3,600 crore deal which would be examined in the next couple of days.
CAG is likely to submit reports on several issues like AgustaWestland helicopter deal, Airport Metro Express Line project and farm loan waiver of PSU banks in Budget session.
Government auditor CAG is likely to submit about half a dozen reports on a slew of issues, including AgustaWestland helicopter deal, Airport Metro Express Line project and farm loan waiver of PSU banks, in the ongoing Budget session of Parliament.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), according to sources, is also readying the performance report on Centre's key flagship programme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme andNational Disaster Management Authority.
These reports are likely to be submitted in the first half of the Budget session, which began with the President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament on February 21. As per the schedule, the first half will end on March 22.
CAG Vinod Rai had already indicated earlier that the official auditor was looking into AgustaWestland helicopter deal of over Rs 3,600 crore.
The VVIP chopper deal has become a major controversy with Italian authorities probing the possibility of Rs 362 crore kickback being paid for the contract. Indian government has already initiated a CBI inquiry into the deal.
The other controversial issue relates to operation of the Airport Metro Express Line, which is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project between DMRC, Reliance Infrastructure and a Canadian firm.
Operations on the Airport Metro Line were suspended for a period between July 8, 2012 and January 21, 2013, as flaws were detected in the civil structure of the line.
With regard to the over Rs 50,000 crore farm debt-waiver scheme, the CAG is understood to have pointed out irregularities in implementation of the popular scheme. The Reserve Bank has already directed banks to recover funds paid to non-beneficiaries.
Big questions that are now casting a doubt over the CBI investigations in the deal are:
1. Did the Tyagi brothers get the 28 million euros mentioned in the Italian probe report, or did someone else get the real share?
2. Is there any proof of Tyagis' involvement beyond Haschke's alleged confessions?
3. Are there other Indians who benefitted with kickbacks?
4. Has CBI filed the PE under pressure or can it really establish the money trail?
AugustaWestland, the Anglo-Italian firm, which is under the scanner for 3600-cr VVIP choppers deal, has responded to the bribery allegations being levelled against it, and said that India can’t scrap the deal as the matter is still being investigated by the authorities in Italy.
The defence ministry will consider the reports of its joint secretary and the CBI team which had gone to Italy to probe charges of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal before taking a final decision on scrapping the contract with Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland.
The ministry is also reviewing the reply to its show-cause notice by AgustaWestland which has denied paying any bribes to bag the contract.
Replying to a showcause notice issued by the Indian Defence Ministry on why the choppers deal shouldn’t be revoked in light of the bribery charges, the Italian firm had issued a letter duly signed by its Managing Director Raymond Edwards, which enlists the firm’s justifications over the chopper deal.
The letter that has been accessed by a leading TV news channel says that India cannot revoke a deal based on mere media reports as Italian investigations are at a "pre-trial phase" and that charges have not been "tested in court."
Denying any claims of wrongdoings, the firm has stressed in the letter that the deal was signed in a transparent manner.
The firm says that it bagged the contract following a comprehensive technical and flight evaluation of competing types performed by the IAF in accordance with the Defence Procurement Procedures.
The Indian government has already contacted the Italian authorities over the charges that huge kickbacks were paid by the Italian defence firm and is reportedly mulling over cancellation of the deal.
It has been alleged that that the firm AW paid about nearly 350 crores as kickbacks to Indian officials, including former Indian Air Force Chief SP Tyagi.
Indian Defense Ministry will take a decision on deal cancellation after reviewing the reply by AgustaWestland.
The news is less than encouraging for the Indians even from the Defence Ministry, with AgustaWestland denying, in response to a show cause notice served against them, any kind of unfair practice. CBI will have to ascertain whether these money charts, as prepared by the Italians, really show the money being diverted into India or not.
It is also learnt that Italian company Finmeccanica paid a commission of seven million Euros (about Rs 50 crore) to the middlemen out of which huge sums were transferred to seven Indian nationals through Tunisia and Mauritius, the PE said.
The money was sent in the garb of of engineering contracts with two Indian companies -- IDS Infotech and Aeromatrix, it said.
The team of CBI officials which returned from Italy with some documents from Finmeccanica and public prosecutor found enough material in them to start its probe in Rs 362 crore alleged payoffs in the helicopter deal, they said.
All the suspects named by the CBI in its Preliminary Enquiry have denied allegations of kickbacks in the deal.
The sources said that they are likely to be called for questioning in connection with the case.
The CBI registered the PE on the basis of documents which the agency managed to procure from Italy yesterday.
Highly-placed sources in the agency said one of the members of the CBI team who returned from Milan on Sunday had got some documents from Italian prosecutors on the controversial Rs 3,600 crore deal.
The Italian agencies on February 15 arrested Orsi, former Chairman of the Finmeccanica, parent company of AgustaWestland, on charges of paying the bribe for the contract.
The investigation report by Italian prosecutor had claimed that Hashcke and Gerosa, through the Tyagi brothers, who in turn through their cousin SP Tyagi, managed first to change the tender details, in a way to favour, modifying the 'operational ceiling' from 18,000 to 15,000 feet of altitude, thus allowing AgustaWestland spa (which otherwise could not have even submitted an offer) to take part in the tender.
The report also claimed that the duo managed to introduce a comparative flight trial with non-functional engine, thus facilitating AgustaWestland helicopters, the only ones which had three engines, swinging the deal in its favour.
It alleged payments were made to Hashcke and Gerosa through a consultancy contract between AW spa and Gordian Services Sarl and an amount of 400,000 Euros (about Rs 2.8 crore). Out of this amount 100,000 Euros (Rs 72 lakh) were paid in cash to the Tyagi brothers (Julie, Docsa and Sandeep).
Bhupendra Chaubey, CNN-IBN writes:The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday named former Air Chief SP Tyagi in its Preliminary Enquiry (PE) in the tainted AgustaWestland chopper deal, along with his cousins Julie and Dosca Tyagi and three key middlemen, as alleged beneficiaries of kickbacks. According to the Italian probe report, Gautam Khaitan and Praveen Bakshi were the two individuals who were used to route money into India.CBI will be probing their role as well. Other names mentioned in the PE include Giuseppe Orsi, CEO of Finmeccanica, which is the parent company of AgustaWestland, and Bruno Spagnolini, former CEO Finmeccanica. It also names Guido Haschke, the key middleman who was handling money for the Indians, Carlo Gerosa, who was Hasckey's partner in the VVIP chopper deal and Christian Michel, who holds the key to the entire AgustaWestland deal and allegedly made Rs 217 crores in the deal.
CBI has also included companies involved in the deal in its PE, which are Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland, IDS Infotech and chandigarh-based Aeromatrix. However, the nature of the documents that the CBI has based its PE on is still not clear.
Italy had earlier refused to part with any evidence. Any document procured from outside has to be done through Letters Rogatory in order for it to be admissible in an Indian Court.
Italian PM assures 'correct governance' of Finmeccanica
ROME: Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has said that his government would guarantee the "correct governance" of state-controlled defence firm Finmeccanica following arrest of its chief executive on corruption charges in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal with India.
"The government was able to intervene with some measures to guarantee the correct governance of the company and the whole group," Monti said.
The prime minister had earlier promised to do "whatever necessary to clean up" Finmeccanica.
He also assured that the prosecution would do its duty in the case of Finmeccanica's jailed ex-chief executive officer Giuseppe Orsi.
"I am sure that the prosecution in this case will do its duty as in other similar cases," he told reporters.
Orsi on arrested by Italian agencies on Tuesday as part of their probe related to international corruption in a case involving the payment of bribes in the Rs 3,600 crore deal for 12 VVIP helicopters to India.
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 the President, PM and other VVIPs.
The deal came under the scanner of Italian agencies after allegations of kickbacks given in India surfaced.
Finmeccanica, Italy's biggest defence contractor, appointed Alessandro Pansa as the new CEO to succeed Orsi.
Earlier, economy minister Vittorio Grilli had said that his ministry was working to make sure that Finmeccanica adopts a system of governance that provides management continuity, protects shareholders' interests and guarantees transparent decision-making.
CBI goes soft on Verma link
MONDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2013 00:29RAKESH K SINGH | NEW DELHI
he CBI is yet to probe the role of notorious arms lobbyist Abhishek Verma and Defence Ministry officials who overlooked clear-cut violation of procurement norms in the acquisition of VVIP helicopters
by the Indian Air Force from AgustaWestland.
Incidentally, Verma’s company Ganton India had entered into an agreement with Italian defence major Finmeccanica’s subsidiary AgustaWestland for clinching a deal with the Delhi Police for the supply of helicopters for the Commonweatlh Games, 2010.
Nothing has so far emerged to show Verma’s direct complicity in the VVIP chopper deal, but his interrogation could throw light on the operation of the AgustaWestland in swinging defence deals in India.
The AgustaWestland’s proposal for the Delhi Police was subsequently scrapped but the formal agreement between the Italian company and Ganton India provided insights into the working of the arms dealers as well as corrupt practices of Finmeccanica’s subsidiary.
The CBI is in possession of the “consulting agreement” between Verma and AgustaWestland for the sale of helicopters for use by the Delhi Police during the CWG, 2010. Estranged partner of Verma and US attorney
C Edmond Allen had furnished a copy of the MoU along with other sensitive materials relating to defence acquisitions in India to the CBI, but the agency did not act in right earnest.
The controversial agreement dated August 7, 2009 between the Italian firm and Ganton India detailed the percentage of bribes to be paid by Agusta to Verma in case the negotiation for securing the deal for sale of AW 119, 109 and AW 139 helicopters for the Delhi Police was successful with his “cooperation.” The agreement was valid till June 30, 2010.
The commission amount for the fully equipped helicopter was fixed at eight per cent of the negotiated value for the chopper. On spare parts sold together with the
helicopters as initial package and maintenance for the first two years, the two parties
had agreed for a 15 per cent commission.
“In case of finalisation of the sale, you will provide Agusta the necessary assistance in the implementation of the sale contract until the payment of the full contract price has been cashed by Agusta,” the agreement said.
It further said, “You will provide the Commercial Department of Agusta with periodical reports about the status and other necessary information concerning the projects assigned to with this agreement.”
During the course of probe into the case relating to payments made by Swiss defence firm Rheinmetall AG to Verma for removal of blacklisting proceedings and the OSA case, the CBI had questioned the notorious arms dealer regarding the MoU with Agusta.
Verma claimed that the agreement was restricted to deal for procurement of helicopters by Delhi Police and the agency relied on his claims, speaking volumes about the functioning of the premier investigating agency.
Verma was arrested for the first time in a defence related case in 2006 by the CBI. The case pertained to leakage of documents related to price of various warships the Navy wanted to acquire and these documents were leaked from Naval war room in South Block in 2005. The case, later came to be known as Naval War room case, was handed over to the CBI and it found that Verma was receiving the information about the prices and used to pass it on to arms dealers and weapons manufacturing companies. He was arrested in 2006 under the Official Secrets Act and granted bail after a few months.
Incidentally, a retired Navy commander Ravi Shankaran, a nephew of the then Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash, is evading arrest till date and is in the UK. The CBI has now sought his extradition as the case is still going on. The Navy had sacked three commanders Vijender Rana, VK Jha and Captain Kashyap Kumar for leaking information.
Verma was arrested the second time late last year after Allen wrote letters to Defence Minister AK Antony, CBI and Enforcement Directorate that Verma was leaking classified defence documents mostly pertaining to deals to arms dealers.
Allen had written this letter in early 2012 along with photocopies of various deals allegedly leaked by Verma. Following this, Antony asked the CBI and ED to look into the allegations. A team of Enforcement Directorate also went to New York to meet the attorney, who according to some reports at one point of time used to handle Verma’s money in the US, to gather information. The CBI then arrested him again under the Official Secrets Act, and Verma, along with his Romanian wife, is yet to come out of Tihar Jail.
Following Allen’s allegations, CBI also booked Verma for receiving bribes by Swiss firm Rheinmetall for removing blacklisting proceedings against it and a case for forging Congress leader Ajay Maken’s official letterheads.
CBI Director Ranjit Sinha did not reply to a text message by The Pioneer when asked why the agency was reluctant in registering either a Preliminary Enquiry or a Regular Case in the chopper scam. He also did not answer if an RC could have enabled it to seek probe documents through judicial channels by sending Letters Rogatory.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/home/online-channel/360-todays-newspaper/129411-cbi-goes-soft-on-verma-link.html
Copter deal fixer specializes in India
ByJosy Joseph, TNN | Feb 25, 2013, 07.11 AM ISTAgustaWestland entered into three consultancy agreements between December 2005 and September 2007 with Haschke in India.
NEW DELHI: Security services in Algeria, commercial promotions in India, supply of specialized personnel in the Middle East and more.
Guido Haschke, the Swiss resident who was allegedly one of the key middlemen in the VVIPhelicopter deal with India, almost sounds like a global consortium with several specializations across the globe in the internal documents ofFinmeccanica group. Or was he a key conduit for funneling out money from the Italian group`s various companies?
According to internal documents of Finmeccanica group reviewed by TOI, Haschke and his companies were paid at least 2.65 million euros (approx Rs 18.55 crore) between 2005 and 2011 for several activities across several countries. These are besides the payments that were made to companies such as IDS Infotech and Aeromatrix, and other front companies.
The documents point towards an extremely cozy relationship between the Italian-US citizen and the consortium. It also shows the blessings enjoyed by Haschke from the Finmeccanica top brass, especially former chairman Giuseppe Orsi, which emerges in the several taped conversations between Hashcke and other suspects during the ongoing Italian probe.
Without such a considerate approach from Finmeccanica, he couldn`t have won so many diverse contracts. There is no clear indication yet that Haschke and his companies had all these capabilities shown in the contracts.
India definitely was his main playground. Haschke had several contracts with Finmeccanica group companies in India at least until March 2012 when details of the scandal began to emerge in Italian media. Investigations show that Haschke and his companies handled kickbacks of 21 million euros in the Rs 3,546 crore deal for buying 12 VVIP helicopters for the IAF in 2010. Christian Michel, a UK citizen based in Dubai, handled another 30 million euros in kickbacks, according to Italian investigators.
AgustaWestland entered into three consultancy agreements between December 2005 and September 2007 with Haschke in India. According to a report submitted to the Finmeccanica board after the scandal broke, these were "concerning scouting for the sale of civilian helicopters in India, for which fees totalling 400,000 euros were paid". The report told the board, "Those agreements have no connection with the subsequent supply of the 12 helicopters discussed" in the controversy.
Alenia Aermacchi, the aerospace arm of Finmeccanica, paid Haschke 300,000 euros in financial year 2011-12 under what is called a "service agreement". It is not clear what specific services Haschke provided to the company, which is pitching its C-27J transport aircraft to the Indian military.
Another Finmeccanica company OtoMelara, which is looking to supply its land and naval systems to Indian forces, had a "service agreement" with Haschke in the 2011-12 financial year for 58,000 euros. Ansaldo Energia, the power engineering company of Finmeccanica group, entered into two commercial support contracts and one contract for the supply of specialized personnel with Haschke in India. Under a contract signed on June 15, 2006, he was paid 202,000 euros for "acquisition of an order from a private Indian party". A second contract dated January 15, 2011 was for supply of spare parts for a plant in India, with a fee of 249,000 euros.
Ansaldo Breda, which is into road and rail systems, entered into a commercial promotion contract in India from November 1, 2008 to October 31, 2009, and paid Haschke 120,000 euros. Haschke`s contracts with Finmeccanica group companies were not just limited to India.
Ansaldo Energia, through its Abu Dhabi branch, had a contract for "specialized personnel" for assembly and work site activities in the Middle East and North Africa with Haschke. The agreement started from January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2006 at an annual cost of 600,000 euros. Ansaldo Energia also had a contract with Haschke for security services for a work site in Algeria during 2007-2010, and he was paid a total fee of 1.14 million euros.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Copter-deal-fixer-specializes-in-India/articleshow/18668489.cms
List of scandals in India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThis is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding itwith reliably sourced entries.
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Concepts |
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Corruption by country |
The following is a list of alleged scams and scandals in India since independence. These include political, financial, corporate and others.
Entries are arranged in reverse chronological order by year. The year is the one in which the alleged scam was first reported or came into knowledge of public.
Contents[hide] |
[edit]Named scandals
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Named scandals in India |
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Scandal |
Year reported |
Scope |
Location |
Key players |
Summary |
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2012 |
 *185,591.34 crore (US$33.78 billion) |
nation |
Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the coal ministry, many electricity boards and private companies |
coal blocks allotted, not auctioned, leading to estimated losses as per the Comptroller and Auditor General of India [1][2][3] |
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2012 |
 *200,000 crore (US$36.4 billion) |
Karnataka |
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2012 |
 *10,000 crore (US$1.82 billion) |
Uttar Pradesh |
Mayawati |
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2010 |
 *176,000 crore (US$32.03 billion) |
national |
Nira Radia, A. Raja, M. K. Kanimozhi, many telecommunications companies |
communication bandwidth auctioned for lower than market value[11][12] |
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2003 |
 *35,000 crore (US$6.37 billion) |
Uttar Pradesh |
Kapil Sibal, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati |
Food which the government purchased to give to the poor was instead sold on the open market[13][14][15][16] |
[edit]2012
[edit]2011
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