Other names from India

The prosecution has also alleged that some cousins of former Indian Air Force chief SP Tyagi - namely Julie, Docsa and Sandeep - received money from the Italian helicopter maker based on a 64-page report by the Italian investigators.

It is suspected that when Air Force representatives, the then National Security Advisor, the Special Protection Group (SPG), the Prime Minister’s Office under Manmohan Singh and the Defence Ministry held meetings between March 2005 and September 2006 to incorporate changes in the technical requirements of the helicopter - like bringing down the operational altitude to 4,500 metres and the cabin height - all these departments were working under the influence of AW’s brokers. The changes in the technical requirements helped this Italian company get the tender. Besides, the number of helicopters proposed for procurement was revised from eight to 12, with the extra four for non-VIPs, so that the alleged brokerage goes higher.

Did the other Indian politicians named above take the money? The Italian court has not reached that conclusion yet; albeit the first UPA government headed by these personalities has been indicted for hiding facts before the court, which has observed:

This showing (of) a substantial disregard to arrive at a full explanation of facts (was) effectively demonstrated by the procedural behaviour of the Indian Ministry of Defence.

The court further noted that it could not

… determine what was the message that Orsi, during his detention, intended to send to the head of Government of India, but the same can be guessed if we think about the outcome of requests for judicial assistance sent to Indian authorities.

Meanwhile in 2013, the UPA-2 government scrapped the deal. The Congress can, however, hardly claim innocence on the merit of cancellation of this contract because the scandal did not break out due to its own vigilance. The scam had come to the fore when the Italian authorities arrested Orsi in Italy and news of the arrest spread like wildfire, engulfing the then Indian government.

In fact, when the CBI sought to question Narayanan and then Special Protection Group chief BV Wanchoo, the Congress’s Law Minister Kapil Sibal tried to obstruct the investigation with the excuse that these officers were ‘immune’ to such inquiries. Then the investigating agency sought the permission of President Mukherjee to interrogate the duo. They finally grilled Narayanan in June and Wanchoo in July of 2014, by when the NDA had come to power. They were reportedly asked why they had advised former Air Force chief Tyagi - or agreed to him - to change the technical specifications of the ordered helicopters. In Octobr 2014, however, the lower Italian court acquitted Tyagi of the charge of corruption.

Mercifully, after going through the Italian legal processes, India has been able to recover the entire amount, which is 45 per cent of the contract value paid in advance according to the agreement, from AW.