India signed for 12 AgustaWestland AW101 VVIP helicopters in 2010 for Rs 3,727 crore and terminated the deal on 1 January 2014 after bribery allegations surfac…
The IAF proposed replacing its ageing Mi-8s. The 2002 tender required a 6,000 m ceiling; only one helicopter qualified, so it was cancelled.
The revised tender lowered the ceiling to 4,500 m and added a 1.8 m cabin height. That made the AW101 eligible.
India signed with AgustaWestland for 12 AW101 VVIP helicopters, about 556 million euros.
Italian police arrested Giuseppe Orsi. India asked the CBI to inquire the same day and froze payments.
The altitude cut and trials held abroad departed from procedure. It did not find bribery.
The ministry cited breach of the integrity pact. Three helicopters had been delivered; about Rs 2,068 crore was reported recovered.
The CBI arrested Tyagi with two others. He got bail on 26 Dec; the judge said the CBI had not said how much cash was paid.
The British national the CBI calls a middleman. He denies wrongdoing.
A 2016 conviction was annulled; Orsi and Spagnolini were acquitted on retrial, final in May 2019.
Supplementary charge sheets named Michel, Rajiv Saxena and others, then ex-Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma.
He got bail in both cases and a release order in the ED case, but stayed in custody. Charges were not yet framed.
The High Court refused release on 8 Apr. The Supreme Court issued notice and gave the Centre a last chance to reply on 24 Jul.
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