Amidst possibility of cancellation of its VVIP helicopter deal worth over Rs 3,600-crore, AgustaWestland officials will present their case before the Defence Ministry here on Wednesday.
The Anglo-Italian firm is facing allegations of violating contractual obligations and the Defence Ministry has issued a final show-cause notice to the company asking it to reply by November 26. There are indications that the Government has made up its mind to scrap the contract. AgustaWestland will present its case before officials of the rank of Additional Secretary and Joint Secretary. The Defence Ministry had earlier declined to meet company officials but agreed to do so last week, officials said here on Tuesday.
Defence Minister AK Antony has already stated that the company violated the contractual obligations but decided to give an opportunity to the firm after repeated requests. According to the Defence Ministry, the company violated the integrity pact after allegations surfaced that it paid Rs 360-crore as bribe to bag the contract for supplying 12 helicopters.
The contract was inked in 2010 and the scam broke out earlier this year when the Italian authorities started probing bribe allegations. The CBI is also investigating the case. The Defence Ministry has already issued the final show-cause notice to the company for cancellation of the deal by the Ministry and AgustaWestland has to reply to it by November 26.
The show-cause notice was issued to the firm by the Ministry on October 21 seeking a reply in 21 days by November 11 after which Agusta sought a meeting and more time to reply to the notice. In the notice, the Ministry asked the firm to explain why “all or any action as prescribed, including cancellation of the contract, should not be taken against them for violating the terms of the pre-integrity pact and the contract for procurement of 12 VVIP helicopters.”
The Government has already frozen the contract for supply of nine VVIP helicopters to the IAF after allegations of bribe broke out in March. The IAF had received three helicopters and the remaining nine helicopters were to be delivered in a phased manner over two years. The Defence Ministry first issued a show-cause notice to AgustaWestland on February 15 asking it to explain within seven days the bribery allegations against it. The company denied any wrongdoing and maintained that it has abided with the Defence Procurement Procedure of the Indian Government.