Following claims by middleman Guido Hashke that he had paid money to cousins of former IAF chief SP Tyagi, the CBI has started fresh questioning of his relatives including Sanjeev alias Julie, Rajeev alias Docsa and Sandeep.
They were named in the FIR filed by the CBI last year after the scam broke out in Italy wherein the Italian investigators are probing allegations that more than Rs 360 crore were paid by AgustaWestland to bag the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal with India. The deal was inked in 2010. As regards the fresh round of questioning, sources said the Tyagi cousins were questioned recently. “What I told CBI is that we have absolutely nothing to do with the deal and all supporting documents have been given to CBI,” Sanjeev Tyagi said when asked to comment on his grilling.
He also said they were cooperating with CBI and went to them every time called and claimed the CAG report and Ministry of Defence release on the VVIP helicopter deal last year clearly refutes the charges levelled “against us by CBI.” Haschke, who was questioned first by Defence Ministry officials and then by CBI in Italy, had told the probe agency that money was paid to the Tyagi brothers for the engineering works and meeting other administrative requirements in India.
The middleman was arrested in Switzerland in September last year and later extradited to Italy to face trial in connection with the helicopter deal. Haschke, however, denied that he had ever met the former IAF Chief or handed over any money to him to clear the VVIP helicopter deal in favour of AgustaWestland. The CBI had registered a case against the former IAF chief and 12 others, including his cousins, for alleged cheating, corruption and criminal conspiracy in the deal. Tyagi has refuted the allegations against him.
Officials said questioning of the Tyagi brothers became necessary after Haschke alleged that he had paid money to them for engineering works at IDS Chandigarh, footing rent and meeting administrative expenses in India. They were questioned last year also in the case and had denied any wrongdoing.
CBI has alleged in its FIR that Haschke, through his Tunisia-based company, Gordian Services Sarl, entered into several consultancy contracts with AgustaWestland from 2004-05 onwards and, “almost on a back-to-back basis he also made consultancy contracts with the Tyagi brothers”. Under the cover of these contracts, Haschke is alleged to have sent Euro 1.26 lakh (about Rs 1.06 crore) and Euro 2 lakh (about Rs.1.68 crore) to the Tyagi brothers.
“Besides these two remittances, the Tyagi brothers also received some unquantified sum of money from the middlemen (Haschke and another, Carlo Gerosa). The inflow of remittances to Tyagi brothers and softening of IAF’s stand on service ceiling of the helicopter closely match in terms of time,” the FIR claimed.