VVIP chopper deal scam: Court issues Letter Rogatory to Mauritius

New Delhi, October 7

A special court issued a Letter Rogatory (LR) to Mauritius to enlist the country’s assistance in the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) ongoing probe into corruption charges in a Rs 3,600-crore VVIP chopper deal.

The CBI had approached the court asking its help to inspect some documents in Mauritius. A LR is a letter formally requesting a foreign court to help in a certain case.

The court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Christian Michel James, a British national who is currently evading arrest, after CBI claimed her was required for investigations.

Former Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi, his cousins — Sanjeev alias Julie, Rajeev alias Docsa and Sandeep, European middlemen Carlo Gerosa, James and Guido Haschke are among the 13 people accused of being involved in the case.    

In its FIR, the CBI claims Tyagi illegally approved reducing service ceiling — the maximum altitude that a helicopter can climb under normal circumstances — of helicopters for VVIPs from the mandatory 6,000 metres to 4,500 metres when he was air chief. Reducing the service ceiling allowed AgustaWestland, the British subsidiary of the Italian firm Finmeccanica to bid.

Last year, the agency estimated that European businessmen James, Gerosa and Haschke had paid some 58 million euros (Rs 423 crore) to have a deal to buy 12 advance helicopters for Indian VVIPs manipulated in favour of AgustaWestland, a UK subsidiary of an Italian company, Finmeccanica.

Tyagi brothers were accused of accepting bribes of Rs 10.5 million euros (Rs 7.68 crore) from some middlemen in two installments — first through bank transfers and then through cash.  

The deal was later scrapped after allegations of corruption flew thick and fast.     

Investigations revealed that "out of the aforesaid kickbacks, payment of euro 10.50 million (Rs 6.99 crore) was made to Sanjeev Tyagi, Sandeep Tyagi and Rajeev Tyagi and their companies by Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa through their companies Ms Gordian Services Sarl, Tunisia and Ms IDS Tunisia”.

The agency booked all 13 for cheating, criminal conspiracy and corruption. — PTI

(1 Euro= 73.16 INR)