MAURITIUS CONDUIT PICKED TO CHANNEL FUNDS TO TYAGI KIN
According to documents filed by Italian prosecutors,
defence contractor Agusta Westland used the controversial 'Mauritius route' to channel kickbacks to the family of
former Air Chief S. P. Tyagi in connection with the 7
3,700 crore V VIP helicopter deal. Using non-existent contracts with multiple front companies, the British subsidiary of Italian arms giant Finmeccanica routed firm Aeromatrix has bribes worth Rs. 400 crore to its denied allegations of middlemen and the Tyagi family
through Mauritius to minimise chances of getting caught, reads the investigation report.
The disclosure by the Italian prosecutors is
based on confessions and taped conversations between
Agusta Westland officials and intermediaries representing the
company.
Finmeccanica initially paid middlemen Z 2.8
crore in 2005 s to bribe Indian officials, before
subsequently funneling money in tranches to the Tyagi family as well as to Gautam
Khaitan, an Indian lawyer whose name has surfaced in
the investigations.
In a November 2012 conversation, key middlemen
Ralph Haschke and Carlo Gerosa spoke about choosing
Mauritius in order to minimise any risk in the event
Italian prosecutors were to send letter rogatories to Mauritius
for details of the bribe money.
"Mauritius takes time (to respond)," Gerosa told Haschkhe.
As a further precaution to avoid laws
preventing companies from paying off arms dealers,
Finmeccanica transferred the bribe money to three companies-IDS India,
IDS Tunisia and Chandigarh-based
Aeromatrix-for'non-existing contracts', investigators
have concluded.
The contract with IDS India was signed on
March 1, 2007, and with IDS Tunisia in early 2008.
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