NEW DELHI: What has Carlo Gerosa, business partner of controversial arms agent Guido Haschke, got to do with a small women's charity in Andhra Pradesh run by catholic nuns?

Haschke is at the centre of Finmeccanica scandal. Based on wiretaps of his phone conversations, Italian prosecutors allege he was paid 51 million Euros as a kickback for helping Agusta Westland clinch the 3,600 crore deal to sell 12 helicopters to Indian Air Force. Conversations between Haschke and Gerosa form a key part of court documents.

Haschke and Gerosa are directors and authorised signatories of Aeromatrix Info Solutions, a Delhi-based company registered at an address in the upscale Defence Colony neighbourhood. Aeromatrix is majority owned by Mauritius-registered Infotech Design Systems Ltd. Others who own shares in the company are Gautam Khaitan (17.32) and Arihant Jain (0.02%), according to regulatory filings with the registrar of companies. Khaitan is managing partner and Jain is junior partner at the law firm OP Khaitan & Co, according to the company website.

Haschke served as a director in Emaar MGF Land Ltd for three months between September and December 2009.

But Gerosa's connections in India are more widespread. He served as a director in Narbheram Power and Steel Pvt Ltd between May 2006 and July 2007. Narbheram is part of the Kolkata-based Atha Group, which has interests in mining and power. He also served as a director of Arbor Charitable Foundation from August 2008 till March 2010, a month after the deal was signed.

According to Sister Daisy (Athickal Annakutty John), who is a director and signatory of the foundation, Arbor helps rural women in Andhra and encourages them to save through its various schemes. "An Italian gentleman called Dominiqo, who is based in Switzerland, approached the Bishop of Khammam (Rev. Paul Maipan) in 2006, saying he wants to help rural women in Andhra Pradesh. The Bishop asked me and Sister Moly (Pazhayamatathil Moly Mathew) to work with them," Sister Daisy told ET on the phone.



She said the money for the charity's functioning-it has a corpus of 4 crore currently-comes from Switzerland. She said she didn't know the full name of Dominiquo. Arbor's India head, according to the nun, was one Luca Streri. "Gerosa was only a nominee of Dominiquo," she said. Arbor's registered office is in Malviya Nagar in Delhi. Board meetings used to happen in Delhi, the 72-year-old nun said, adding that Arbor has an office in Italy, apart from the headquarters in Switzerland. She says she never met Gerosa.