Khaitan held in Agusta chopper deal

A Delhi-based businessman was arrested on Tuesday by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the money-laundering probe in Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper deal.

Gautam Khaitan, a lawyer and former board member of Chandigarh-based Aeromatrix that was allegedly a front company for the financial dealings in the chopper deal, was taken into custody after raids on his two premises late on Monday night. 

His arrest came as the ED is trying to track the alleged kickbacks of Rs 360 crore in finalising the deal.

Khaitan has been charged under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He is required for further detailed interrogation in the case, ED officials said. 

Khaitan, however, has refuted all allegations. He had been quizzed by the CBI in this case earlier.

Sources said the ED has seized jewellery worth Rs 1 crore and impounded some “important” documents. According to investigating agencies, the funds for the deal were allegedly routed through Aeromatrix and a few others. A reference to Khaitan was also reportedly made in the Italian prosecutor's report filed in a court in Italy.

 A case was registered by the CBI last year against former IAF chief S P Tyagi and 12 others, including his cousins Sanjeev, Rajeev and Sandeep, on charges of cheating, corruption and criminal conspiracy in the deal in which Rs 360 crore was alleged to have been paid as bribe.

The CBI has alleged that the bribes were transferred through a web of Indian and Tunisian software firms in the garb of technical contracts.

The ED case registered on July 4 came as an offshoot of the CBI case against Khaitan, Tyagi, his family members, European nationals Carlo Gerosa, Christian Michel and Guido Hasheem and four companies–Italy-based Firecracker, UK-based AgustaWestland and Chandigarh-based IDS Intrench and Aeromatrix under the provisions of PMLA.

The Comptroller and Auditor General, in its report in August, said that the Defence Ministry had set the benchmark price at an “unreasonably high”Rs 4,877 crore, while the manufacturer had quoted Rs 911.5 crore less.