“There is no doubt very strict action would be taken against those who are involved”
Agencies/Kochi, Kerala
Defence Minister A K Antony yesterday admitted there was corruption in the controversial helicopter deal with Italian company AgustaWestland.
He said that a new defence procurement policy would be ready soon.
“Yes, corruption has taken place in the helicopter deal and bribes have been taken. The CBI is pursuing the case very vigorously,” Antony told reporters here.
As soon reports first surfaced of alleged corruption in the deal, the defence ministry ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation to probe if kickbacks were paid to Indian middlemen in the Rs37bn ($750mn) deal to buy 12 high-security VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland.
“Please wait for some more time, and there is no doubt very strict action would be taken against those who are involved,” Antony said.
He did not name those involved.
Antony said the investigation was at a crucial stage. “Someone has taken money (in the chopper deal). The corrupt will not be spared,” he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lashed out at the Congress-led government over Antony’s remarks, saying the government was talking in vague terms instead of identifying the accused and prosecuting them.
“It is a settled fact that so and so has given the bribe. All that you need to do now is identify the person who has taken the money. And obviously, whosoever took the money has to be a very influential person because he or she was in a position to use his or her influence to swing the deal in favour of the Italian company,” Punj said in New Delhi. “Now, that is all that needs to be done. And instead of identifying that person and prosecuting him or her, this government is still talking in vague terms that we will do this and that; it smacks of hypocrisy,” the leader of the main opposition party added.
The CBI earlier this month filed a criminal case against former Indian Air Force chief S P Tyagi and 11 others on charges of cheating and conspiracy in the deal.
The agency filed the charges against 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 Italian defence group Finmeccanica’s helicopter division, AgustaWestland.
The CBI searched the homes and offices of Tyagi and his cousins, who it suspects were among those who received bribes to clinch the purchase of the helicopters two years ago.
The 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 former federal minister Santosh Bagrodia, who belongs to the ruling Congress Party.
The inquiry into the helicopter contract began last month after Italian authorities arrested Giuseppe Orsi, the CEO of Finmeccanica, in Italy on charges that the company paid bribes in India. Orsi, who has been jailed, denies wrongdoing.
Italian authorities also placed AgustaWestland chief 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. Tyagi was the air force chief from 2004 to 2007.
The CBI said Finmeccanica paid a commission to three middlemen who channeled the illegal payments through Tunisia and Mauritius to two India-based companies as payments for an engineering contract.