New Delhi:
Facing a Central Bureau of Investigation probe in India, defence firm Finmeccannica on Sunday claimed that an Italian court hearing the VVIP chopper scam has accepted its "request for monetary measures" in the case against its subsidiary company AgustaWestland and accordingly imposed fines of over Rs 62 crore on it.
"Finmeccanica hereby informs that the judge for pre-trial investigations of the Court of Busto Arsizio, has decided to grant the request for monetary measures made last July 25 by the two Finmeccanica-owned companies AgustaWestland SpA and AgustaWestland Ltd, jointly with the Public Prosecutor," a Finmeccanica release said.
The firm claimed that "on July 25, the Italian Prosecutor has discontinued investigations against Finmeccanica acknowledging the non-involvement of the Company in the alleged wrongdoing."
Finmeccannica and its subsidiary AgustaWestland have been banned from taking part in any future Indian defence contracts but have been allowed to continue supplies for the equipment which have already been given to the Indian armed forces.
The firm's release said the judge has, "in accordance with the said requests, decided to endorse the imposition of an 80,000 Euro (Rs 63.5 lakh) fine regarding AgustaWestland SpA and of a 300,000 Euro fine (Rs 2.38 crore), alongside the confiscation of 7.5 million Euros (Rs 59.6 crore), regarding AgustaWestland Ltd."
The fate of the case against former CEOs of AgustaWestland Guiseppe Orsi and Bruno Spagnolini is not known yet.