Middleman Haschke arrested in VVIP chopper deal

Swiss authorities have arrested Swiss-American Guido Ralph Haschke, one of the 13 alleged middlemen in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal, on charges of bribery, Italian media reported on Friday. The Rs. 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter supply contract is under probe of Italian and Indian agencies for alleged kickbacks paid to Indian officials — including former IAF Chief S.P. Tyagi — to clinch the deal. According to Italian media, Haschke could be brought to Italy by next week in case he prefers not to appeal against extradition proceedings before the Swiss Federal court. The court in Switzerland ruled that Haschke can be extradited to Italy. CBI which carried out the probe in India had named 13 individuals, including Mr. Tyagi and European middlemen Carlo Gerosa, Christian Michel and Guido Haschke, in the FIR as accused, in connection with the alleged bribery. The Indian probe agency has alleged that during his tenure as the IAF chief, Mr. 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”. AgustaWestland NV: AgustaWestland NV is a British-Italian multinational helicopter design and manufacturing company. It came in to light during the alleged lobbing and kickbacks transfer during its Rs. 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter supply contract to the Indian Government. The scandal broke out in early 2013. Union Defence Minister A.K. Antony confirmed corruption allegations in his statement on 25th March 2013 and the probe is handed over to the CBI.

What: Guido Ralph Haschke arrested When: 17th October 2013 Why: for alleged corruption in AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal