Defence Minister A K Antony Order For Investigation Into Rs 3,546.17 Crore Deals Of VVIP Helicopter Signed To European Defence Firm AgustaWestland
Posted on: February 24, 2012
Defence Minister A K Antony today ordered a probe to find out if there was corruption in the Rs 3,500-crore deal to procure 12 helicopters for VVIPs from European defence firm AgustaWestland.
"Antony
AgustaWestland is a subsidiary of Italian defence company Finmeccanica which had edged out Sikorsky’s S-92 Superhawk for the deal.
The new helicopters are being procured to replace the aging Russian-made Mi-8 helicopters that are nearing completion of their life.
Reports in Italian daily 'La Repubblica' suggest that prosecutors there have already started probing allegations of corruption in the multi-millon deal.
They say that Italian attorney general’s office began a probe last year into the dealings by Finmeccanica and now it has been widened to include the Rs 3,546-crore contract with India
It reports a senior company official, Lorenzo Borgogni, has told prosecutors that slush funds were generated after a "sudden" escalation of price by 10 million euros in 2010.
A few months before the deal was cleared by India , the Finance Ministry had raised issues relating to costs but it did not do so after security concerns over VVIPs were raised by the Special Protection Group (SPG) and the Indian Air Force, Antony
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