Chopper scam: How did Orsi know he would win contract a day ahead?

‘You cannot always win.’ This is the message Finmeccanica chief Giuseppe Orsi sent along with a bottle of champagne to his rivals - American firm Sikorsky, who were also bidding for the lucrative chopper contract in New Delhi. [caption id=“attachment_627083” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Finmeccanica chief Giuseppe Orsi. AFP[/caption] Interestingly, according to the report by Italian investigators, all of this happened a day ahead of the announcement of who had won the Rs 3,600 crore contract in February 2010. The contract was ultimately bagged by Finmeccanica. “Orsi, found himself at a restaurant in New Delhi where (by accident) a delegation of American Sikorsky was also present… Orsi sent a bottle of champagne with a note that says ‘you cannot always win’ to the American table,” said the report by the investigators probing the alleged scam. After the incident, the head of the American delegation left the room annoyed by the rude behaviour of the Italian CEO. The incident was confirmed to PTI by one of the individuals present in the hotel. Orsi was arrested in Italy earlier this week in connection with the payment of alleged kickbacks worth Rs 362 crore. It is alleged that kickbacks were paid by middlemen hired by Finmeccanica to secure the Indian contract and they were allegedly in touch with former IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi and three of his cousins for this purpose. Tyagi has denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the charges as baseless. PTI