TNI Bureau: Under pressure from the opposition and media, the government has moved to scrap the entire chopper deal signed with Finmeccanica to purchase 12 AgustaWestland executive aircrafts for VVIPs. The Defence Ministry has warned the company to name the beneficiaries in the deal within seven days or face action.
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India has already paid more than 50 per cent of the total deal amount of Rs 3,600 crore, but received only three choppers so far. If the company fails to name the people who got bribes from the deal, the process to scrap the deal would be initiated immediately, it is said.
A CBI team is going to Italy to probe the matter and find out who got the Rs 362 crore kickbacks in the scam that was paid between 2007 and 2011. Former IAF Chief SP Tyagi and his cousins are said to be the prime beneficiaries in this scam.