AgustaWestland Chopper Scam: Lobbyists Deepak Talwar, Rajiv Saxena Extradited to India From Dubai at Midnight, ED Takes Custody
Both the lobbyist - Deepak Talwar and Rajiv Saxena – of the AgustaWestland Chopper Scam were extradited to India and ED has taken charge.
New Delhi, January 31: In an attempt to solve the AgustaWestland Chopper scam, the Union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a landmark achievement after UAE handed over influential corporate lobbyists – Deepak Talwar and Rajiv Saxena – to India on Thursday early morning. These two people were the close aides of AgustaWestland middleman Christian Michel, who was earlier extradited to India in December 2018.
According to the sources, the two lobbyists were extradited to India through a special plane which belongs to ARC – aviation wing of external intelligence agency RAW. Both the lobbyists were questioned by the Enforcement Directorate at separate locations after being arrested by the officials at 2 am on Thursday. Christian Michel Has Named Mrs Gandhi: ED Tells Court in Agusta Westland Case.
The Union government’s efforts to bring back the high profile fugitives to the country gained momentum and opened a Pandora box of scams’ details with the arrest of these lobbyists. The Union government – led by BJP – might address a press conference later on Thursday.
As per the ED, Deepak Talwar was allegedly involved in the controversial aviation deals negotiated under the UPA government. Even in CBI’s registered FIR in 2017, Talwar’s name surfaced, in which he allegedly ‘misutilised’ over Rs 90 crore in funds obtained from foreign companies as part of corporate social responsibilities. The investigative agencies suspected that Talwar might have slipped out of the country in 2018.
Along with Talwar, Rajiv Saxena was arrested as he was seen a close associate of Christian Michel – an alleged key figure in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal scam. Saxena and his wife are the accused of using two Dubai based firms for routing proceeds of crime in the chopper scam.
Earlier, the ED in December last year, in it's reply against Dubai-based businessman Saxena’s bail plea, had informed the court about the request for his extradition from Dubai as he had failed to join the investigation even after repeated reminders.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 31, 2019 11:01 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).