The CBI and the Ministry of Defence may soon receive transcripts of taped conversations between alleged middlemen regarding the `3,600-crore deal to procure 12 VVIP helicopters.
These transcripts, related to the conversations between Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschke, the alleged middleman who brokered the deal, are expected to shed light on the involvement of Indians in the deal. It is alleged that the AgustaWestland paid bribes amounting to `360 crore to bag the deal to supply 12 helicopters to the Indian Air Force.
A CBI source said that the Ministry of Defence would get a copy of the transcripts soon as the Italy court has ordered that all affected parties should get a copy of prosecutor’s documents.
The transcripts may reveal information regarding the associates of the middlemen in India who helped them broker the helicopter deal. On March 13, the CBI registered a case in the VVIP helicopter deal against former Air Chief Marshall S P Tyagi, along with his three cousins Julie, Docsa, Sandeep, and Satish Bagrodia, who is brother of former Minister of State for Coal Santosh Bagrodia and seven others on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and relevant sections of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The CBI has also booked directors of two Chandigarh based companies, IDS Infotech and Aeromatrix.
These companies showed that they bagged contracts from companies abroad to route the bribe money to India by showing the money received as payment for the contracts. Pratap Agarwal is the managing director of IDS Infotech while Pravin Bakshi is the chief of Aeromatrix.