NEW DELHI: Government circles are surprised by the sudden agreement reached between Italian military consortium Finmeccanica and prosecutors to settle legal proceedings in the VVIP helicopter scandal.The authorities here insisted on Wednesday that the deal between Finmeccanica and prosecutors would have no impact on investigations and other administrative action in India.However, ultimate fallout of the Italian decision could be that yet another Indian defence scandal would be buried without public ever knowing specifics of the kickbacks, especially the possible political beneficiaries.CBI spokesperson Kanchan Prasad said the Italian move would have no impact on the agency's investigations, in which it has accused former air force chief SP Tyagi, his cousins and several others of receiving kickbacks in the Rs 3500 crore deal signed in 2010 for VVIP helicopters. She said, "The investigation is in an advance stage, we will go on with the probe."Her confidence was not shared by many in the political and bureaucratic circles who feel abrupt end to the Italian investigation could forever bury with it several questions regarding yet another Indian defence scandal. Foremost would be the question if there were political beneficiaries in scandal, and whether Christian Michel, the middleman who handled euro 31 million of kickbacks, handled the political part of the payments.In a statement on Tuesday, Finmeccanica said it has reached an agreement with prosecutors to settle legal proceedings, while asserting that it was not admission of wrongdoing. The company said, “This decision is not in any way an admission of any wrongdoing or liability."It said the decision was taken "in light of the reorganization under way within the Finmeccanica Group , to refocus energies on business and market opportunities globally." It further said the subsidiary, AgustaWestland which made the helicopters, has agreed to pay a fine without admitting to any wrongdoing.The sudden turnaround by the Italian authorities may not mean much to the official proceedings in India, but the long term fallout would be that it may not been known if the deal had political beneficiaries. According to investigation so far, there is fairly good amount of information about how 21 million euro kickbacks was to be distributed by Guido Haschke and his business partner Carlo Gerosa. Through software outsourcing and other means, the kickbacks was allegedly distributed/to be distributed to people such as former air force chief Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi and his cousins.However, what is not known is how rest of the 30 million euros of the kickback was/to be distributed by Christian Michel, the British middlemen known for his political links in India. The Italian prosecutors had for weeks secretly taped Haschke and Gerosa, and recorded in great detail how they were bribing the Tyagis and others in India. The investigators have also detailed how they were using the software route to send money to India.However, Michel is yet to provide a confirmation. What is suspected is that he is now based in Dubai, and has been controlling his business through companies opened in UAE. He is also believed to have had interests in Singapore, UK, Italy and other places. If the Italian prosecutors decide to shut down the probe, then his secret dealings of may never be known.