New Delhi: Former Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi was hosted a fancy dinner by former AgustaWestland CEO in the year 2007 and the firm bore the expenses, confessions made by former vice president Giacomo Saponaro, international business AgustaWestland told an Italian court.
According to an Indian Express report, defence lawyers are expected to strongly reject this claim during a hearing on Thursday and contend that the officer was never in Italy on the dates mentioned.
Tyagi, who retired on March 31, 2007, did not respond to calls from The Indian Express seeking comment. Government sources said there is no evidence available on whether the officer visited Italy while in service.
More clarity is expected on Thursday when defence lawyers question Agusta's former senior vice president for international business, Giacomo Saponaro, who made the claim Tuesday.
Saponaro is being questioned in the case that 51 million euros were allegedly paid as bribes to bag the deal for 12 VVIP choppers for the IAF.
On Tuesday, Saponaro told a court near Milan that Tyagi was hosted by the then Agusta CEO Giuseppe Orsi, a key accused in the case who was arrested and released on bail last year.
Saponaro claimed that Orsi took Tyagi to a fancy theatre performance and also hosted an expensive dinner for him in early 2007.
Tyagi is named as an accused in the Italian case and is also being investigated as an accused by the CBI that has registered a case into the scandal.
A case was registered by CBI against Tyagi and 12 others for alleged cheating, corruption and criminal conspiracy in the Rs 3600 crore VVIP helicopter deal in which Rs.360 crore was said to have been paid as kickbacks.
Now the CBI will be summoning his cousins–Sanjeev alias Julie and Rajeev alias Docsa and Sandeep for a fresh round of questioning as Haschke has alleged that he had paid money to them for engineering works at IDS Chandigarh, paying rents and meeting administrative expenses in India.
They have been questioned last year during which they had denied any wrongdoings.
