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Chopper deal: India warns Italian firm of blacklisting
Friday February 15, 2013 01:16:46 AM,
IANS
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New Delhi: India
Thursday warned Italian firm Finmeccanica of legal action,
including blacklisting, over corruption allegations in the VVIP
chopper deal and asked them whether any slush money had been paid
to fix the deal that has led to a political uproar.
The ministry of defence issued a detailed statement on the
sequence of the $750 million deal for 12 VVIP AgustaWestland
helicopters by the Italian firm's subsidiary, two days after a
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe was ordered into the
bribery charges.
The statement noted that the mandatory technical requirements of
the chopper were changed in the tender during the Vajpayee
government in 2003, with the then national security adviser
Brajesh Mishra playing a key role.
The defence ministry has asked the chief of AgustaWestland to
"categorically state the clear position in view of the current
developments indicating specifically if any financial transaction
has taken place with any Indian individual/entity which would be
violative of the integrity pact or any other terms and conditions
of the contract".
It also cited the clauses of the integrity pact that was signed,
noting that the contract bars paying of bribes or involvement of
middlemen. The clause warned of "strict action including
cancellation of contract, recovery of payment, blacklisting and
penal action" against the vendors.
The defence ministry warned that the government is "determined to
take all possible legal and administrative action against the
guilty parties and accordingly has ordered a thorough probe by
CBI".
The statement also said that the first request for the proposal
was issued in March 2002 mandating 6,000 metres as the flying
altitude for selection of the chopper.
Under this, AgustaWestland "was not certified for an altitude of
6,000 metres and it did not participate in the flight evaluation."
This ruled out other competitors, and only Eurocopter of France
was found suitable.
In 2003, changes were made to enable other competitors enter the
bid, the statement said.
On Tuesday, the Italian government arrested Finmeccanica CEO
Giuseppe Orsi for allegedly paying bribes to fix the chopper deal.
Italian investigators have named three relatives of former Indian
Air Force chief S.P. Tyagi as beneficiaries of the slush money.
The revelations have led to an uproar in the country with the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comparing the chopper deal with the
Bofors scam.
BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar demanded said that CBI probe
should be monitored by a competent authority.
"Ordering a mere CBI inquiry is not enough. It must be monitored,"
he told reporters.
However, senior BJP leader and former defence minister Jaswant
Singh came out in support of the former Air Force chief.
"We should not make wild allegations against a former air chief.
It is not in the interest of both the air force and the country,"
he said.
Tyagi has denied any wrongdoing.
One of his cousins accused in the bribery termed the allegations
as "baseless".
The three Tyagi brothers -- Julie, Docsa and Sanjeev -- are
alleged to have received kickbacks of around Rs.72 lakh from
middlemen.
Julie Tyagi claimed he and his two brothers are involved in the
power sector as consultants and have never ventured into the
defence sector in any way.
The Italian probe report suggests that the former IAF chief had
met the middlemen more than six to seven times and allegedly
briefed them about the developments in the contract.
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