AgustaWestland Scam: CBI Sends Fresh Request to Ministry of External Affairs For Extraditing Middlemen, Carlo Gerosa From Italy
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sent a fresh request to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to extradite an alleged middleman, Carlo Gerosa in AgustaWestland scam
New Delhi, June 25: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sent a fresh request to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to extradite an alleged middleman, Carlo Gerosa in AgustaWestland scam. According to sources, in the request, CBI said that as per the Italian law, no extradition treaty is required if the person to be extradited has been facing criminal charges.
Last week, Italy had refused to extradite Gerosa as it did not have any mutual legal assistance treaty with India. The Italian and Swiss national was believed to have played a vital role in the bribery scandal. According to reports, Gerosa met cousins of former Indian Air Force (IAF) chief S P Tyagi.
On January 1, 2014, India scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over an alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of paying kickbacks to the tune of Rs 423 crore for securing the deal. It was alleged that Gerosa along with Guido Haschke and Christian Michel managed to contact IAF officials so that the specifications of helicopters can be altered.
In 2005, the service ceiling requirement of helicopters was reduced from 6,000 m to 4,500 m. After this alteration, AgustaWestland became eligible to supply a dozen helicopters for VVIP flying duties. Gerosa was apprehended by authorities in Italy on the basis of the RCN in connection with its money laundering probe in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP choppers deal case.
According to a report published in India Today, Michel was questioned by Indian officials in the UAE. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI had also issued Letters Rogatory to multiple countries to gather more leads and evidence in this case. Letters Rogatory are requests issued by courts on the petition of an investigation agency when it wants information from another country.
(With inputs from PTI)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 25, 2018 11:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).