14 February 2013

Pin It

In Depth Timeline India Italy Helicopter Scam AgustaWestland Finmeccanica Rs.362 Crore Scam

In Depth Timeline India Italy Helicopter Scam AgustaWestland Finmeccanica Rs.362 Crore Scam

In all the scams , project is started by one party and is completed by another party and then all parties shout on each other.

Defence Minister AK Antony ordered a CBI probe  Defence Minister AK Antony ordered a CBI probe into the VVIP chopper deal after 1 year.

Now CBI probe will decide Bribe was paid or not paid?

Do you think CBI should take quickly permission from government and courts and cross-examine all the accused on camera in Italy?

Once again foreign country has exposed the corruption, which happened in India.

Today Italy Needs Money, Italy Needs orders from other nations but still Italian Government acted and trying to punish the culprits.

Jai Ho Italy Investigators , Judge, and Authorities

AgustaWestland had hired a middleman to swing deal with the Delhi Police in 2009.
As per the documents, AgustaWestland offered eight per cent commission to secure the order for helicopters.
However, the Delhi Police Helicopter purchase never went through.
The middleman in question -- C. Edmonds Allen of American company Ganton --confirmed to Headlines Today from New York that his company had signed an agreement with AgustaWestland.

Media reported that Giuseppe Orsi, the head of Italian defense 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,"

Orsi was arrested after months of investigation ordered by an Italian court into Finmeccanica's affairs in procuring defense contracts in various countries, including India.

1-
In February 2010, India had inked the deal to acquire the 12 three-engine AW-101 helicopters from AgustaWestland
Finmeccanica was awarded a 560million Euro (Rs 3,546-crore) contract in 2010 to supply 12 AW101 helicopters for IAF's Communication Squadron that flies the country's VVIPs.
Example – Prime Minister, President, Defense Minister

Three of these helicopters were delivered in January 2013 in the middle of the Italian corruption probe.


2-
UK based AgustaWestland is a subsidiary of Italian defense company Finmeccanica

3-
As per Media reports up to 51 million euros that Rs.362 Crore Indian rupees , that is 10% of total deal amount was given as a bribe or kickback to win the contract.

4-
Italian Prosecutors were investigating this case for the last 2 years after former head of Finmeccanicas external relations wing Lorenzo Borgogni made disclosures about the payment of 51 million euros.
He had named two middlemen hired to swing the Indian contract
Following are the names of 2 middlemen.
1.    Swiss Businessman Guido Ralph Haschke
2.    Christian Michael is UK Resident.

Haschke  holds American and Italian citizenship, worked with his partner Italo-Swiss citizen Carlo Gerosa.
Michael reported to Orsi.

Christian Michel has political connections in India.
Christian is the owner of Global Service Trade Commerce, headquartered in London and Global Service FZE based in Dubai.

Many agents or middlemen in India operate under the name of public relations company but their actual job is to get work done by hook or crook or by cash or male or female no limits.

5-
Italian investigators , authorities  focused on recorded conversations of both the middlemen.
In their conversations they talk about destroying evidence , changing computer so no one can find any evidence regarding kickback.

6-
It is alleged that 51 million euros were paid to
1.Haschke Carlo Gerosa [ Haschkes partner]
2.Giuseppe Orsi [Finmeccanicas head ]
3.Bruno Spagnolini [ Agustawestland CEO ]
4.Many Indians

7-
The Indian Link –
Aeromatrix, a chandigarh based IT company.
The above company is linked to Haschke.
Aeromatrix came into existence in 2009 and has  more than 80%  foreign holding as per media reports.
Gerosa was on the board of directors.
Media reported that Haschke was a director at the firm and was active in defense circles.
Media also reported that Haschke had held a meeting in Italy with Praveen Bakshi, CEO of Aeromatrix Solutions Pvt Ltd.

Media reported following names Indian citizens who are under scanner in this helicopter Scam-
1.CEO Pravin Bakshi of Chandigarh based Aeromatrix Solutions Pvt Ltd
2.Lawyer Gautam Khaitan -  Delhi-based lawyer and  legal advisor to Haschke and Gerosa
3.Businessman Sanjeev Kumar Tyagi alias July who is relative of former air chief S.P. Tyagi

Italian Probe Report said that They managed to pay, through brother’s juli Tyagi and  Sandeep Tyagi a certain amount of money, not yet quantified to Marshall Tyagi, chief of Staff in the Indian Air Force from 2004 to 2007.

Italian investigators have alleged in a preliminary inquiry submitted in an Italian court that business conglomerate Finmeccanica bribed S P Tyagi when he was chief of the Indian Air Force to swing the controversial AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal in favor of the company.

Tyagi brothers in turn through their cousin SP Tyagi managed to change the tender details and in a favorable way for AgustaWestland.

The Italian inquiry says that  Indian officials lowered the altitude at which the VVIP helicopters were required to operate from 18,000 feet to 15,000 feet, which allowed AgustaWestland to qualify as a contender.

Then,  an engine failure-flying test was introduced.
This favored AgustaWestland, as its helicopters were the only ones in the tender operating with three engines.

At one point in the 566-page report, Haschke is mentioned talking to his partner that Indian judges will never be able to find the money trail. The funds were allegedly routed through Mauritius and Tunisia.

 Italian Prosecutors allege that Orsi, along with the current chief executive of AgustaWestland Bruno Spagnolini, paid 400,000 euros in consultancy fees to Haschke and Gerosa.
"Of this, 100,000 euros in cash were given to the Tyagi brothers," they said in the 65-page warrant.

According to the documents filed in an Italian court, AgustaWestland CEO Bruno Spagnoli and Guido Ralph Haschke, one of middlemen and a former director of real estate firm Emaar MGF, signed a consulting contract between the UK-based helicopter company and a firm called 'Gordian Services Sari' worth 400,000 euro.
Of this, 100,000 euro was paid to the Tyagi brothers in cash.

engineering contracts were signed involving IDS Tunisia and IDS India
to pay "sums of money in order to pay public officials" in India,
the documents show. In 2007, 640,000 euro was paid into IDS India "using invoices issued by IDS India, for non-existent operations,"

In 2008, this amount was 1.3 million euro. In the same year, there may have been another payment of 977,263 euro.

In the declarations for 2009, there is an entry of 508,000 euro payment to IDS India.

In 2011, a payment of almost 6.4 million euro was detected.

The documents establish that the average monthly payment being routed into India was 510,000 euro without any taxes.

8-
Media reported that Air Chief Marshal Tyagi was heading the IAF when the controversial chopper tender was floated

The Italian Probe report mentions about presence of a powerful Indian link that ensured eligibility criteria for the tender was changed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Haschke and Gerosa have reportedly claimed that Tyagi would keep them updated on the tender for the 12 helicopters during their meetings, which are believed to have taken place six to seven times.

Italian Authorities allege that (Guido Ralph) Hashcke and (Carlo) Gerosa managed to introduce a comparative flight trial with non-functional engine, thus facilitating AgustaWestland helicopters, the only ones which had three engines. In this way they managed to get the contract to AgustaWestland,"

9-
George Fernandes was the Defence Minister from October 2001 to May 2004 and Air Chief Marshal S K Krishnaswamy was the IAF chief in 2003.

The Request for Proposal, which was issued in 2006

10-
Tyagi told to media admitted to having met an Italian called Carlo Gerosa who Italian authorities accuse — along with his US-born partner Guido Ralph Haschk  of working as a middleman for Finmeccanica.
Tyagi said his cousins had links to Gerosa
He said the deal had been sealed three years after he retired from the air force in 2007.
Mr. Tyagi was chief of the Air Force from 2004-2007. 

11.
defense minister AK Antony told to media that India will cancel a $750 million deal to buy helicopters from Finmeccanica and blacklist the Italian defense group if bribery allegations are proven

12.
The Italian investigators probe report says that in exchange for kickbacks, Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi, who was in office from 2004 to 2007, altered the tender for the helicopters so that AgustaWestland would win the contract.

13-
former air force chief told to media  that the tender was changed in 2003, before he took over as Air Force chief, and that the deal was finalized and signed in 2010, three years after he retired.

14-
The Congress says that the tender was changed in 2003, when the BJP-led NDA coalition was in power with Brajesh Mishra as its National Security Advisor or NSA.

15-
Former Air Chief Marshal Krishnaswamy said the IAF was only involved in technical evaluations ahead of the chopper procurement to transport VIPs.
He said that the selection process for such aircraft was handled by the prime minister's office (PMO) and the Special Protection Group (SPG).
He said that parameters for procurement could not be changed by the IAF.

16-
A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court seeking a probe by special investigation team (SIT) or Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) into the VIP chopper scam.
The petitioner, advocate M.L. Sharma, urged that the probe be conducted under the supervision of the Supreme Court.

17-
Date – Friday, February 15, 2013
In a press statement, Defense Ministry said that the changes in the Rs. 3,760-crore tender were made when Tyagi was in the hot seat in 2005-06. Pranab Mukherjee was then the defense minister in the UPA government.

Tyagi was air chief from December 31, 2004, to March 31, 2007
A global tender for buying the VVIP helicopters was floated on September 27, 2006, during Tyagi's tenure.

Tender requirements were discussed by the air force, prime minister’s office (PMO), Special Protection Group, defense ministry and the national security adviser.

Defense Ministry said the proposal was approved by the high-power Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on January 18, 2010 and the contract was concluded for the supply of 12 AW-101 VVIP helicopters on February 8, 2010.

18-
integrity pact is valid till February 2015 under the contract.



Reality views by sm

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Tags -  Helicopter Scam India Italy 2013 2010


8 comments:

virendra sharma February 14, 2013  

An important update ,thanks.

deeps February 14, 2013  

today being a special day, a scam-free post would have been great :)
at least one day a break :P

MEcoy February 14, 2013  

another scam huh
i guess world is filled with it

Boringbug February 16, 2013  

It has turned out to be another blame game for the political parties. Such disgrace for the currencies.
btw.. Nice piece of information. thnx