Agusta VVIP chopper deal: is 'AP' Ahmed Patel, Italian prosecutor asks middleman

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An Italian public prosecutor has asked in court whether the initials 'AP' appearing in the notes of a middleman accused of paying bribes to push the controversial AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal could be senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel.

The name of Sonia Gandhi's political secretary cropped up at a hearing in a court in Milan, where prosecutor Eugenio Fusco reportedly asked alleged middleman Guido Haschke, a key player in the multimillion dollar chopper deal, whether 'AP' in documents seized from his house refers to Ahmed Patel.

Mr Haschke replied that he 'didn't know,' as the documents belonged to Christian Michel, another alleged middleman. He also denied that he paid any bribes to anyone in the Indian military to secure defence contracts.

The BJP demanded a response from the Congress-led government. "Government must clear its stand, what the Italian prosecutor said and what is Government's take on this," said the party's spokesperson Prakash Javadekar.

India this month cancelled the controversial Rs. 3,600-crore contract for 12 helicopters meant for VVIPs with the UK-based AgustaWestland amid allegations that deal was riddled with kickbacks paid to Indian officials including former Air Chief SP Tyagi.

An Indian team including CBI and defence ministry officials was present in the courtroom for the first time, and also put up questions to Mr. Hascke through their lawyer.

Guido Hascke, an American-born Swiss citizen, was also questioned by the legal team of Giuseppe Orsi, the former CEO of AgustaWestland's Italian parent Finmeccanica, whose arrested uncovered the chopper deal scandal. The next hearing will be held on January 23.

The Italian prosecutor who conducted the preliminary inquiry in the case has alleged that Finmeccanica had used the services of middlemen like Haschke to bribe Indian officials.
Agusta VVIP chopper deal: is 'AP' Ahmed Patel, Italian prosecutor asks middleman | NDTV.com