In an unprecedented move, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested former Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Shashindra Pal Tyagi, or SP Tyagi, and two others in connection with the AgustaWestland chopper scam, over allegations of widespread bribery in the case. The bribe amount is said to be over Rs 450 crore.
Tyagi has been accused of meeting AgustaWestland officials when he was IAF chief between 2005 and 2007, and for also allegedly tailoring specifications of helicopters to help the Italian company win the contract.
The other two people arrested are Delhi-based lawyer named Gautam Khaitan and an individual named Sanjeev Tyagi alias Julie Tyagi. The latter is said to be the brother of the former IAF chief. It may be noted that an Italian court, which had convicted Giuseppe Orsi, former head of Agusta's parent company Finmeccanica, of corruption in the deal, had also reportedly named the Tyagi brothers.
'Illegal gratification'
CBI sources said on Friday that all three arrested are accused of "accepting illegal gratification for exercising influence through corrupt and or illegal means." Effectively the CBI accuses them of accepting bribes in lieu of using their clout to influence the powers to buy VVIP choppers from the AgustaWestland group. The probe into the scam has also shown that they managed to steer undue favour towards AgustaWestland.
The trio had been booked under Sections 120B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, and relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. They had also been summoned to the CBI headquarters for questioning.
Bribe amount
What is startling is that when the deal was finalised in 2010, it was worth Rs 3,767 crore for 12 VVIP choppers AgustaWestland would deliver. The CBI said the bribe amount was fixed at 12 percent of the amount, which comes to more than Rs 450 crore.
The scam has raked up the names of a number of bigwigs, including that of Sonia Gandhi, whose political secretary Ahmed Patel is an accused in the case.
