File Photo: SP Tyagi as Air Force chief
The Italian inquiry into the sale of 12 AgustaWestland (AW) helicopters to New Delhi forced the Indian government to sanction a CBI inquiry, and to warn that the deal is likely to be cancelled. (
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Italian prosecutors have said in their report that SP Tyagi, who headed the Indian Air Force from 2004-2007, ensured that the tender for the helicopters was tailored so carefully to match AW's abilities, that the American and Russian competitors were eliminated. The retired Air Chief Marshal has denied the charges, which include being paid kickbacks via his cousins Julie, Rajiv and Dosca, who were allegedly given 100,000 euros or 70 lakhs in cash. (Read:
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Speaking to NDTV, the prosecutors in Italy say that "there is lots of evidence" against the former air chief, and that "no other Indians apart from the Tyagis" have been implicated so far. There is also so far "no evidence of any Indian politicians being involved," they said, on condition of anonymity.
The prosecutors who wrote the report based on the interrogation of middlemen for AW and taped phone conversations - said that a controversial reference to "the family" by a middleman was to the Tyagis. At home, the main opposition party, the BJP, had asked if "the family" meant the Gandhis, who lead the ruling Congress.
The Italian inquiry exploded into a political scandal in Delhi with the arrest last week of the man who used to head AW's parent company, Finmeccanica. Prosecutors presented a detailed report of a preliminary inquiry, which outlines a web of middlemen and companies used to route nearly 350 crores as kickbacks to India.