IAF, defence accounts officers to help CBI probe chopper deal

Officials from Indian Air Force (IAF) and Defence Accounts Department will join a special CBI team formed to probe the allegation of payment of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal as the investigating agency prepares to examine suspects named in its Preliminary Enquiry (PE).

Sources in the agency said an IAF officer would be joining the CBI team along with some officials from the Controller General of Defence Accounts to examine the documents collected from Milan as well as from Italian-based Finmeccanica, parent company of AgustaWestland helicopter.

The special CBI team, to be assisted by the Income Tax department sleuths as well, will study the necessity of changing the specification of the helicopter besides the money trail, they said.

Former IAF chief S P Tyagi and his three cousins are among 11 individuals named in the PE registered by the CBI on February 24 besides four companies.

Suspected European middlemen Carlo Garosa, Christian Michel and Guido Haschkhe, advocate Gautam Khaitan formerly associated with Aeromatrix and its CEO Praveen Bakshi, former Finmeccanica Chairman Giuseppe Orsi, former AgustaWestland CEO Bruno Spagnolini, have also been named.

The CBI will examine some of the officials from the Aeromatrix and IDS Infotech, the sources said, adding that Tyagis including Julie, Dosca and Sanjeev Tyagi, cousins of former IAF chief, will be questioned at a later stage.

The Defence Ministry has handed over the documents to the CBI which includes replies from the AgustaWestland to its show cause notice issued besides some internal communication of the ministry pertaining to the deal.