New Delhi: Former Air Force chief SP Tyagi, his cousin Sanjiv alias Julie Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan were on Friday arrested by the CBI for alleged corruption in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case.
Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had in February 2010 signed a contract with UK-based AgustaWestland to purchase 12 AW101 helicopters for the Indian Air Force for Rs 3,600 crore.
These choppers were supposed to be used for flying the President of India, the Prime Minister, and other such VVIPs.
AgustaWestland CEO Bruno Spagnolini and Guiseppe Orsi, chairman of AgustaWestland's parent company Finmeccanica, were arrested by Italian police in February 2013 on charges of paying bribes to win the deal with the IAF.
Several IAF officers including its former chiefs came under the scanner.
After Spagnolini and Orsi were arrested, the UPA government put a hold on the deal. Former defence minister AK Antony ordered a CBI probe into the matter.
Timeline of the case:
August 1999 - The Indian Air Force (IAF), which is responsible for carrying out VVIP communication duties, proposes replacement of Mi-8 helicopters due to operational constraints.
March 2002 - A global request for proposals issued.
November, 2003 - Concerns were raised on single-vendor situation in a meeting taken by Atal Bihari Vajpayee's PMO. A few recommendations were also made to change some requirements to accomodate more vendors.
March, 2005 - IAF changes crucial requirements in the chopper acquistion, including altitude requirement that qualifies Agustawestland to complete.
September, 2006 - With consulation from Manmohan Singh's PMO tenders were issued to six vendors. Requirement of choppers was also revised upwards from 8 to 12.
January 2010 - The Cabinet Committee on Security clears proposal to acquire 12 helicopters for use of VVIPs after a long process that involved change in some parameters, evaluations and and negotiations.
February, 2010 - Ministry of defence (MoD) concludes contract for supply of 12 AW-101 VVIP helicopters with Britain's AgustaWestland.
February 2012 - Media reports about allegations of unethical dealings in helicopter procurement appear. MOD seeks factual report from Indian embassy in Rome.
February, 2013 - Italian Police arrest Giuseppe Orsi, CEO of Finmeccanica, parent company of AgustaWestland, as part of bribery investigations into the chopper deal.
February, 2013 - MOD initiates action for cancellation of contract and puts on hold payments to company. Issues a formal show cause notice to AgustaWestland seeking cancellation of contract and taking other actions as per the terms of the contract and the integrity pact. Investigation handed over to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
February, 2013 - CBI registers a preliminary enquiry (PE) against 11 people, including former IAF chief SP Tyagi, and four companies.
March, 2013 - CBI registers a first information report (FIR) against Tyagi and 12 others for alleged criminal conspiracy and cheating in the chopper deal.
November 2013 - AgustaWestland officials meet MoD officials to present their case. The company nominates Justice BN Srikrishna for arbitration. It submits its reply to the final show cause notice before Nov 26 deadline.
January, 2014 - The Indian government terminates the agreement on grounds of breach of the Pre-contract Integrity Pact (PCIP) and agreement by AgustaWestland.
September, 2014: Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrests businessman Gautam Khaitan on allegations of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper deal.
October, 2014: An Italian court acquits former chairman of AgustaWestland Mr Orsi and former AgustaWestland head Bruno Spagnolini. Sentenced to a 2-year jail term on the false accounting charge.
April 7, 2016: Mr Orsi sentenced to 4.5 years in jail for false accounting and corruption by an Italian court. Bruno Spagnolini was also handed a four-year jail term on the same charges. The court also decided to confiscate belongings of the two men worth 7.5 milion euros ($8.5 million).
April 27, 2016: Christian James Michel, the middleman in the AgustaWestland deal, tells CNN News18 he is willing to come to India to face the authorities. He also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene. In his letter to Modi, he claimed that he is willing to share evidence related to the AgustaWestland case with the investigating agencies.
He denied reports of him and his father being close to the Gandhi family.
May 2, 2016: CBI begins grilling former Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi over his alleged links with middlemen.
December 9, 2016: SP Tyagi, his cousin Sanjiv alias Julie Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan arrested by the CBI on corruption charges.
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