Choppergate: Middleman denies paying bribe to any India

While he may have refused to answer specific queries related to the scandal, a middle man in the procurement of the AgustaWestland choppers by the Indian Air Force for VVIPs, has denied that he paid any bribes to India officials. CNN-IBN reported that the Indian investigators consisting of officials from the defence ministry and CBI began their questioning of Haschke in Milan today. However, the channel quoted unnamed sources from the team as saying that the businessman has refused to answer any specific queries that they had addressed to him. [caption id=“attachment_1331935” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Haschke maintained that no kickbacks were paid to any individuals in India to buy the chopppers in the Rs 3,600 crore deal and every payment was accounted for in the Finmeccanica account books, the channel reported. India has scrapped the helicopter deal, nearly a year after allegations surfaced that kickbacks to the tune of Rs 360 crore were paid to bag the contract. The Milan court had allowed Indian authorities to examine Haschke in the bribery case, which is being heard in that country. Haschke was arrested in Switzerland from where he has been brought to Italy. It is for the first time that CBI officials will be part of Haschke’s examination which has been done by the defence ministry officials through their lawyers in the court. The helicopter supply contract is under probe by Italian agencies and CBI for alleged kickbacks paid to Indian officials—including former IAF chief SP Tyagi—to clinch the deal. Tyagi has denied allegations of any kickbacks. Haschke is one of the 13 accused named in the FIR filed by CBI. “Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa (both middlemen) managed to send 5.6 million euros through Mohali-based IDS Infotech and Chandigarh-based Aeromatrix Info Solutions Private Ltd to India and kept the remaining amount of about 24.30 million euros received from AgustaWestland with themselves in the account of IDS Tunisia,” the CBI FIR in the case states. With inputs from PTI