On Monday Defence Minister AK Antony said "somebody has taken money" in the Augusta Westland chopper deal that is stuck by bribery allegations. Antony said that no leniency would be given to anyone involved in bribes. It is contended that the contract involved Rs 362 crore in bribes.
The CBI has started investigations into the heated Rs 3,600 crore deals for supply of VVIP choppers by the Anglo-Italian firm,
"Please wait for some more time. There is no doubt very strict action would be taken against those involved," AK Antony said , adding that CBI is "vigorously" pursuing the matter.
The CBI had obtained some more key papers from the Defence Ministry and Italy giving clue to the finalisation of this deal. Enforcement Directorate has received the documents having details of money trail.
Preliminary Enquiry (PE) against 11 people, including former IAF chief S P Tyagi, his three cousins, European middlemen and four companies has already been registered by CBI.
However, all the accused have negated the allegations. The Central Bureau of Investigation is trying to find out the part of some go-betweens suspected to have shaped the deal in favour of the Italian company.
The CBI suspects that a part of Rs 362 crore bribe money was routed through Tunisia and Mauritius to Indian nationals. This money was disguised as payments for engineering contracts to IDS InfoTech and Aero matrix, Chandigarh.
The CBI is expected to despatch judicial requests to UK, Italy, Mauritius and Tunisia in the hunt for facts about financial transactions of the deal.
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