Agusta Verdict In Italy Used Auditor (CAG) Report. CBI, Though, Refuses.

New Delhi: While concluding that Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland paid bribes in India to land a government order for 12 helicopters, an Italian court has included the findings of India's state auditor. However, the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, which flagged parts of the agreement as suspect, is not being considered in the Indian inquiry, which is being conducted by the country's premier investigating agency, the CBI.

The deal for the helicopters, worth 3,600 crores and for the use of VVIPs, went off track in 2013 when Italy arrested the head of Finmeccanica, which owns AgustaWestland, for paying bribes to secure the deal. He was convicted earlier this month. Meanwhile, the CBI's inquiry has yet to make real progress.

In August 2013, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Vinod Rai, said that the Defence Ministry had initially stipulated that the helicopters needed for the government should be able to fly to an altitude of nearly 19,000 feet, which meant that AgustaWestland could not compete since its helicopters were certified to fly only to 15,000 feet.

Later, the minimum altitude requirement was lowered, even though the helicopters were expected to be used in mountainous northern and northeastern parts of the country, said the CAG report.

This has been cited by the Italian court as part of the evidence of the complicity of then Air Force Chief Tyagi, who, the court says, had early information on the requirements of the helicopters and colluded with AgustaWestland. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The CBI says it is not considering the auditor's report because it deals with financial accounting, while the agency has to investigate and gather evidence. "We need to wait for Letters Rogatory replies (requests for evidence and findings) from other countries and only Italy has responded for now," said a senior officer to NDTV.

Italy and India  have separately investigated  30 million euros as kickbacks for the Agusta deal. While Italy has looked at who offered the bribes, the Indian government said this week "it is the identity of the bribe-takers that must be established". Notes and letters exchanged between Finmecannica executives and middlemen named several leaders of the Congress, which was then in power. These documents were deliberated upon by the Italian court, and attached to its order, which grants them legitimacy, the ruling BJP says.