India has recovered the entire Rs.1,818 crore it paid to Anglo-Italian company AgustaWestland by invoking bank guarantees after it junked a Rs.3,600 contract for purchasing 12 AW 101 helicopters meant for use by VVIPs.
Following an Italian court’s order last month that cleared the final stumbling block in the way of recovering the money, the Defence Ministry encashed the guarantee deposited by the company in Italian banks. The Defence Ministry had earlier recovered Rs.250 crore deposited in an Indian bank by the company.
India had paid 45 per cent of the value of the contract to the company, which had delivered three helicopters. The IAF has mothballed these helicopters as they cannot be used. With the recovery of money, a chapter in the tainted contract has been closed.
Probe is on
The Defence Ministry is now awaiting the outcome of an investigation in Italy and at home to take further action. The CBI is yet to conclude its probe into allegations of kickbacks being paid for the contract. The previous UPA government had held that the parent company, Finmeccanica, had violated an integrity pact by engaging middlemen to swing the contract in its favour.
The CBI named 12 people, including former IAF chief S.P. Tyagi, as accused in its FIR but the probe has not made much headway. The Defence Ministry, however, had ample grounds to scrap the contract on the basis of the findings of Italian investigators. India also joined the trial of the main accused in the Italian court.
Indian government is depending on the trial of the main accused, alleged middleman Guido Haschke, in an Italian court. The court allowed Indian officials to pose questions to Hashcke, who has denied his involvement in the matter.
The new government in New Delhi will have to make a call on blacklisting Finmeccanica and its subsidiaries. The decision is likely to have an impact on other defence purchases.
