A team of the CBI and MoD, which reached Italy on Tuesday to probe the allegations of kickbacks in the Rs.3,760 crore deal for the 12 AgustaWestland101 choppers, have taken appointments with prosecutors in Italian court. ‘They will seek details and documents of involvement of Indian citizens and officials,’ the CBI sources stated.
Sources have said they also met an Italian lawyer who has been engaged by the Indian authorities. ‘The language is an issue as all documents and conversations will be in Italian,’ the CBI sources said. Besides, the lawyer is also likely to help the team understand Italian law, represent India’s case with the local courts, and expedite the process of getting documents. A CBI team will probe if firms had been floated to route kickbacks in the helicopter deal with AgustaWestland, a Britain-based subsidiary of Italian firm Finmeccanica.
The agency has, so far, not registered a case as it wants to get more information about the kickbacks and establish authenticity of documents. Sources said CBI was handed over a letter from the defence ministry seeking a probe which also contained some press clippings. Italian sleuths had alleged that Finmeccanica bribed former chief of the Indian Air Force, S P Tyagi, to swing the deal in its favour. The charges were made in a preliminary inquiry report of the alleged corruption in the deal worth Rs 3,546 crore filed by the Italian prosecutors.
Sources have said they also met an Italian lawyer who has been engaged by the Indian authorities. ‘The language is an issue as all documents and conversations will be in Italian,’ the CBI sources said. Besides, the lawyer is also likely to help the team understand Italian law, represent India’s case with the local courts, and expedite the process of getting documents. A CBI team will probe if firms had been floated to route kickbacks in the helicopter deal with AgustaWestland, a Britain-based subsidiary of Italian firm Finmeccanica.
The agency has, so far, not registered a case as it wants to get more information about the kickbacks and establish authenticity of documents. Sources said CBI was handed over a letter from the defence ministry seeking a probe which also contained some press clippings. Italian sleuths had alleged that Finmeccanica bribed former chief of the Indian Air Force, S P Tyagi, to swing the deal in its favour. The charges were made in a preliminary inquiry report of the alleged corruption in the deal worth Rs 3,546 crore filed by the Italian prosecutors.