VVIP chopper deal: CBI seeks details from Italy about arrested middleman

The Italian prosecutor, who carried out the preliminary inquiry, has alleged that the CEO of Finmeccanica, the parent company of the UK-based AgustaWestland, had used services of middlemen to bribe Indian officials.

CBI, which carried out the probe in India, has named 13 individuals, including Tyagi and European middlemen Carlo Gerosa, Christian Michel and Guido Haschke, in the FIR as accused in connection with the alleged bribery.  

The Indian investigative agency has alleged that during his tenure as the IAF chief, Tyagi and “with his approval” the Air Force “conceded to reduce the service ceiling for VVIP helicopters from 6,000 m to 4,500 m as mandatory (although) it was vehemently opposing the same on grounds of security constraints and other related reasons”.