India’s top investigative agency on Wednesday filed a criminal case against a former air force chief and 11 other people on charges of cheating and conspiracy in a $750 million helicopter deal marred by bribery.
The Central Bureau of Investigation filed the charges under India’s corruption prevention laws against Shashi Tyagi, three of his cousins and officials of four defence companies after an investigation revealed that huge bribes were paid to steer the contract to the Italian defence group Finmeccanica’s helicopter division, AgustaWestland.
The agency searched the homes and offices of Tyagi and his cousins, who it suspects were among those who received bribes to clinch the purchase of 12 helicopters two years ago.
India’s Defence Ministry received three of the helicopters in December but has placed the rest of the contract on hold.
Among the 12 people involved in the case is Satish Bagrodia, the brother of a former federal minister, Santosh Bagrodia, who belongs to India’s governing Congress party.
The CBI said it filed the criminal charges based on evidence it had gathered from the men and from documents it obtained from Italy. The Defence Ministry indicated that alterations were made in the helicopter specifications to favour AgustaWestland.
The inquiry into the helicopter contract began last month after Italian authorities arrested Giuseppe Orsi, the chief executive of Finmeccanica, in Italy on charges that the company paid bribes in India. Orsi, who has been jailed, denies wrongdoing.
Italian authorities also placed the head of AgustaWestland, Bruno Spagnolini, under house arrest.
Tyagi has also denied any wrongdoing in the case and said decisions on the helicopter deal were made before he assumed the top job in the air force.
The agency said Finmeccanica paid a commission to three middlemen who channelled the illegal payments through Tunisia and Mauritius to two India-based companies as payments for an engineering contract. Those companies and two Indian men associated with them were among those named as accessories in the case.
