Asserting that it has not violated the integrity pact with India in any manner in connection with the Rs 3,700-crore VVIP helicopter deal, AgustaWestland on Tuesday submitted “some documents” to the Defence Ministry, which will examine the documents and take the next step in the next few days.
The documents will be handed over to the CBI which is looking into allegations of bribe and middlemen in the helicopter deal.
Integrity pact bars the vendor from hiring a middleman or paying bribes for bagging contract. The ministry had given a notice to AugstaWestland last week and set a seven-day deadline for it to reply about the company’s alleged links with two Indian companies namely IDS Infotech and Aeromatrix.
Ongoing Italian investigations have found that bribe money worth over Rs 352 crore in the helicopter deal was
routed through these two
companies.
last month, when the defence ministry issued a show cause notice as to why the contract should not be cancelled, AgustaWestland had denied any wrongdoing in the deal and claimed that it had adhered to the Defence Procurement Procedure(DPP)
But Defence Minister A K Antony had stated in Parliament a fortnight back that he did not “believe” the reply given by the company.
DPP clearly states that the vendor cannot hire a
middleman or pay bribe to bag the contract as this amounts to violation of the
integrity pact.
All the vendors have to sign this pact and the government has the right to cancel the contract at any stage if DPP terms are flouted.