First time in the history of
armed forces , former Indian Air Force
Chief S P Tyagi and two others were arrested by the central bureau of
Investigation ( CBI) which is investigating the Rs 3,600-crore Agusta Westland
VVIP helicopter deal case.It is indeed a black day for the armed forces which
prides itself as a non corrupt organisation.
Investigators from Italy first
alleged that the Tyagi brothers received bribes to swing the deal in favour of
AgustaWestland, a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica, by tweaking
technical requirements of the tender. Tyagi and others are to be produced
before the court today.
CBI spokesperson Devpreet Singh
said that it was alleged that Chief of
Air Staff (CAS) entered into criminal conspiracy with other accused persons and
in 2005, conceded to change IAF’s consistent stand — that service ceiling of
VVIP helicopters 6,000 metres was an inescapable operational necessity — and reduced
the same to 4,500 metres.Such changes in operational requirements, Singh said,
made the private company (AgustaWestland) eligible to participate in the
request for proposal for VVIP helicopters.
The UPA government had signed a
contract with AgustaWestland International Ltd (AWIL) in 2010 for supply of 12
AW 101 VVIP helicopters at an aggregated price of Rs 3726.96 crore. The
government cancelled the deal in January 2014 “on grounds of breach of the
pre-contract integrity pact and the agreement” by AWIL.
The CBI has alleged that Indians were paid bribes of Rs
362 crore to swing the deal in favour of AgustaWestland.In the probe found that
bribes were allegedly paid through a complex web of companies and middlemen
based in Italy, UK, Tunisia, Mauritius, Singapore, British Virgin Islands,
Switzerland and the UAE. Letters rogatory were sent to these entities and,
sources said, the BVI and Tunisia have “partially replied”.The Enforcement
Directorate (ED), also investigating the case, too filed chargesheets against
Khaitan and alleged middleman Christian Michel.
In 2014 the Italian court
investigating the chopper scam had named former chief of the IAF, SP Tyagi in
the scam, saying he was bribed by Finmeccanica to sign the deal with
AgustaWestland. In 2015, however, Tyagi was acquitted by the Italian court,
which said there was no corruption by Indian officials.
The IAF had urged the defence
ministry to purchase helicopters capable of flying in high-altitude areas like
Siachen and Tiger Hill. After careful evaluation of the AW101, it was
ascertained that it was not capable of flying at 6,000 metres above sea level.
The alleged middleman in the deal, Guido Haschke, revealed that while AW101 did
not meet the technical requirements of the IAF, the deal was signed after
Haschke tweaked the contract with the help of his Indian contacts.
The Milan court also took note of
conversations between the three middlemen — Carlos Gerosa, Christian Michel and
Guildo Haschke — who mention a 'Mrs Gandhi' as being the driving force behind
the VIP, and her close aides Ahmed Patel and Pranab Mukherjee. In a letter
dated 15 March, 2008, Christian Michel wrote to Peter Hulet, the then head of
India region sales and liaison for AgustaWestland, saying, "Dear Peter,
since Mrs Gandhi is the driving force behind the VIP, she will no longer fly
with MI8. Mrs Gandhi and her closest advisers are the aim of the High
Commissioner, senior adviser Prime Minister Manmohan Singh obviously the main
figure, then there’s Ahmed Patel Secretary."
The UPA government had then
denied all allegations and had claimed it had nothing to hide.
AgustaWestland allegedly paid €30
million in bribes, of which €20 million was routed through Haschke and Carlo
Gerosa. A CBI report that came in later said that prior to Tyagi's appointment
as Air Force chief, the IAF had "vehemently opposed" lowering of the
altitude requirement. This changed after Tyagi came into the picture and the
IAF conceded to reduce altitude requirements, allowing AgustaWestland to
re-enter the bidding process.
The Indian armed forces prided
itself in being a non corrupt organisation serving the nation. The arrest of
former Air Force Chief is a big black spot on the armed forces.
With Inputs From Agencies
