Two days after the Defence Ministry cancelled the scam-tainted VVIP helicopter deal worth over Rs, 3,600 crore with AgustaWestland, the company said on Friday that the termination notice does not offer any firm basis for action against it.
Denying any wrongdoing after allegations surfaced last year that more than Rs 360 crore was paid as bribe to bag contract, the Anglo-Italian company said in a statement after the cancellation that the defence ministry had stated in February last that the tender process was duly followed. The firm also welcomed India’s decision to appoint an arbitrator while terminating the contract though the defence ministry maintains this step was taken to protect its own interests.
Defence Minister AK Antony in December last year had ruled out arbitration as this clause was not applicable in case of violation of integrity pact as per the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP). The integrity pact bars the vendor from hiring a middleman and paying commission or bribe. Antony had made this observation after the company said it will go for arbitration and appointed former Supreme Court judge Justice BN Srikrishna.
“Agusta Westland still finds that neither the termination notice by the Ministry of Defence nor the show cause notice, from which this termination notice stems, offers adequate basis to take any action against the company,” the company in its statement. The company also said it was committed to working with the Indian Government to “resolve the issues, to allow the Indian armed forces to receive the equipment they need and is ready to perform the remaining obligations under the agreement for the supply of the 12 VVIP helicopters. AgustaWestland will continue to support the three helicopters already delivered to and currently operated by the IAF.”
IAF received three helicopters from Agusta early last year but put the delivery of nine remaining helicopters on hold and froze payments after the scandal broke out. The defence ministry has already paid 45 per cent of the contracted amount.