ED arrests defence agent in VVIP chopper case

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 26

Enforcement Directorate officials arrested defence agent Sushen Mohan Gupta in the Rs 3,600-crore VVIP chopper deal case on Monday night.

Gupta was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said, adding that he had allegedly dealt in defence deals, including the AgustaWestland helicopter deal. Lawyer Gautam Khaitan and alleged British middleman Christian Michel, who has been brought here from the UAE, were earlier arrested by the ED in the case.

Gupta’s arrest was made after the agency sleuths came to know about his role in the deal following disclosures made by Rajiv Saxena, who had recently turned approver in the case after his deportation here from the UAE and arrested by the ED, the officials said. “It is suspected that Gupta has in his possession some payment details in the purchase of VVIP choppers and the link is to be unravelled,” they said.

On January 1, 2014, India scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica’s British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the Indian Air Force (IAF) over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of paying kickbacks to the tune of Rs 423 crore by it for securing the deal.

The CBI and ED have filed multiple chargesheets in the case and named former IAF chief SP Tyagi and his family members as accused besides others.