2013 Indian helicopter bribery scandal

AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter contract

Industry	Defense procurement
Founded	2010
Fate	Contract terminated in 2014 due to bribery allegations
Area served	India
Key people	Giuseppe Orsi (CEO of Finmeccanica), Christian Michel (middleman), S. P. Tyagi (former Indian Air Force Chief)
Products	AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters

Not to be confused with Agusta scandal.

"Choppergate" redirects here. For the 2011 Nine News Queensland controversy, see Nine News Queensland § "Choppergate" controversy.

"Choppergate" redirects here. For the scandal involving Bronwyn Bishop commonly referred to as "Chopper-gate", see Bronwyn Bishop § Expenses controversy and resignation.

File:Italy - Navy EHI EH-101 (cropped).jpg

An Italian Navy AW101, identical to the model acquired through this agreement

The AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter contract became synonymous with a bribery scandal involving the Indian National Congress-led UPA Government in India. This case, which surfaced in 2006 and 2007, involved payments made to intermediaries and Indian officials to secure the purchase of helicopters intended for use by top government dignitaries. According to the CBI, approximately Template:INRConvert was transferred via bank accounts located in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

The controversy emerged publicly in early 2013 when an Indian parliamentary inquiry was initiated to probe allegations of bribery and corruption implicating senior officials and the European helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland regarding the procurement of a new helicopter fleet. Media outlets commonly refer to this affair as the Chopper scam or Choppergate. Several politicians affiliated with the Indian National Congress and military personnel faced accusations of accepting bribes from AgustaWestland to secure a Template:INRConvert contract for supplying 12 AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters, which were designated for VVIP transport including the President of India and other senior officials. Italian prosecutors have implicated Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, as a recipient of kickbacks from this deal.

During proceedings in an Italian court, a note submitted by middleman Christian Michel—who was extradited to India on 4 December 2018—requested Peter Hulett, an AgustaWestland official, to focus on influential advisors to Sonia Gandhi. The document listed names such as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Ahmed Patel, Pranab Mukherjee, M. Veerappa Moily, Oscar Fernandes, M. K. Narayanan, and Vinay Singh. It also detailed bribe amounts categorized as "AF" €6 million, "BUR" €8.4 million, "Pol" €6 million, and "AP" €3 million. On 8 January 2018, Milan’s third Court of Appeals acquitted all defendants involved. Additionally, Abhay Tyagi faced allegations of receiving kickbacks totaling ₹69,00,000.

Investigations into the matter are ongoing within India under the supervision of the Indian government and the CBI.

Overview

In February 2010, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) entered into an agreement to acquire 12 AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters intended for the Communication Squadron of the Indian Air Force, designated to transport the president, prime minister, and other VVIPs. The deal became embroiled in controversy on 12 February 2013 when Giuseppe Orsi, CEO of Finmeccanica, the parent company of AgustaWestland, was detained by Italian authorities on allegations of corruption and bribery. The subsequent day, Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony initiated an investigation into the contract.

Critical events

• On 25 March 2013, India's Defence Minister A. K. Antony publicly acknowledged the existence of corruption in the helicopter transaction, stating: "Yes, corruption has taken place in the helicopter deal and bribes have been taken. The CBI is pursuing the case very vigorously." By June 2014, the Indian government had recovered approximately Template:INRConvert and reclaimed around Template:INRConvert—equivalent to 45% of the total contract value of Template:INRConvert—paid to AgustaWestland.
• On 8 April 2016, the Milan Court of Appeal reversed a lower court ruling in a detailed 225-page judgment, convicting AgustaWestland executive Giuseppe Orsi with a four-year prison sentence for disbursing a €30 million bribe to Indian politicians, bureaucrats, and officials within the Indian Air Force.
• On 9 December 2016, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) apprehended former Indian Air Force Chief S. P. Tyagi, along with his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and attorney Gautam Khaitan. In September 2017, the CBI formally filed charges against S. P. Tyagi and nine others.
• On 16 December 2016, Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassazione annulled the April 2016 conviction and ordered a retrial to take place in Milan.
• On 8 January 2018, Milan’s third Court of Appeals acquitted all defendants on every charge.
• On 5 December 2018, alleged intermediary Christian Michel was extradited from Dubai to India.
• On 31 January 2019, co-accused Rajeev Saxena and lobbyist Deepak Talwar were also extradited from Dubai to India.
• In April 2019, a supplementary charge-sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate named three journalists—including Shekhar Gupta—alongside Raju Santhanam and Manu Pubby in connection with the case.

Investigation

Following widespread controversy and accusations of corruption, the Defence Minister of India, A.K. Antony, directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to initiate an inquiry on 12 February 2013.

On 25 February 2013, the CBI commenced a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) involving 11 individuals, including former Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal S. P. Tyagi, his cousins, and representatives from four companies. After completing this initial investigation, the CBI gathered sufficient evidence and formally registered a First Information Report (FIR) on 13 March 2013. The FIR implicated 13 individuals such as S. P. Tyagi; his three brothers Juli, Docsa, and Sandeep; Satish Bagrodia, brother of ex-Union minister Santosh Bagrodia; and Pratap Aggarwal, Chairman and Managing Director of IDS Infotech. Additionally, four companies were named: Italy-based Finmeccanica, UK-based AgustaWestland, and Chandigarh-based IDS Infotech along with Aeromatrix.

In 2013, Indian billionaire arms dealer Abhishek Verma and his Romanian-born wife Anca Neacsu were identified as suspects in this case. Abhishek acted as an intermediary in the transaction and engaged with politicians to secure Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approval for the deal. This connection was uncovered by TimesNow TV through their international investigation. Investigators revealed that a portion of bribe money from AgustaWestland was funneled into Abhishek’s companies Atlas Defence Systems’ accounts in Mauritius and Bermuda-based Atlas Group Ltd accounts. Another segment was routed to a front company controlled by his wife in New York named Ganton Limited. These funds are believed to have been transferred to Indian political figures who benefited from the scandal. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy was among the first to expose Abhishek Verma’s involvement along with that of Anca Neacsu through his blogs and press releases in 2013. However, in April 2017, a CBI Special Court under Judge Anju Bajaj Chandana cleared the Vermas of corruption charges.

In September 2015, a special CBI court issued an open non-bailable warrant against Christian Michel based on a report indicating the need to question him regarding the commission amount he allegedly received in this deal. The CBI stated that Interpol India would be requested to issue a Red Corner Notice for Michel’s arrest following this warrant. In an interview with the press, Michel denied any misconduct and asserted that he had never met any member of the Gandhi family.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been investigating allegations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. By March 2015, ED traced assets valued at approximately ₹1.12 crore owned by Christian Michel and issued a provisional attachment order on these properties. According to ED claims, Michel purchased an apartment in South Delhi’s Safdarjung Enclave under the name of media company Media Exim using illicit funds. He was also reported to own a luxury vehicle and maintain a fixed deposit worth ₹54 lakh. In September 2015, an adjudicating authority upheld the attachment of these assets, permitting ED to retain control over them. Additionally, in the same month, ED attached assets worth around ₹7 crore linked to family members of former IAF Chief S. P. Tyagi.

Both CBI and ED have sent letters rogatory seeking cooperation from eight countries including Italy, Tunisia, Mauritius, United Arab Emirates (UAE), United Kingdom (UK), Switzerland, Singapore, and the British Virgin Islands as part of their ongoing investigations into this case.

Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) Inquiry

On 27 February 2013, the UPA-II administration proposed a motion in the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the Parliament of India) to establish a 30-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to conduct an investigation. The motion was approved despite a walkout by several opposition parties, including the BJP, JD(U), Trinamool Congress, CPI, TDP, and AGP. During the ensuing debate, Opposition Leader Arun Jaitley criticized the JPC as a "pointless exercise" and a "distraction tactic." He emphasized that the case involved complex legal issues like the extradition of foreign suspects and custodial interrogation, powers beyond the JPC's jurisdiction, rendering it ineffective. Numerous opposition members called for a Supreme Court-supervised investigation similar to that in the 2G spectrum case. There were also calls to trace the financial transactions involved and to issue a Letter Rogatory (LR).

Initially, the UPA government refuted all accusations, asserting it had "nothing to conceal" and highlighting that "our record does not include any cover-up."

Termination of Contract by Indian Authorities

In January 2014, India annulled the Template:INR 3,600 crore agreement with AgustaWestland. The government cited violations of the Pre-contract Integrity Pact and breaches of terms by AWIL (AgustaWestland International Ltd) as reasons for cancellation. The contract had been suspended in February 2013 following allegations that a bribe amounting to Template:INRConvert had been paid.

Key Decision-Makers

The high-ranking officials who played pivotal roles in selecting AgustaWestland helicopters for VVIP purposes included M. K. Narayanan (Indian Police Service (IPS), former Director of the Intelligence Bureau (India) and National Security Advisor), B V Wanchoo (IPS, and Chief of the Special Protection Group), and Shashi Kant Sharma, IAS, former Defence Secretary. Following their central government tenures, under the UPA regime, M.K. Narayanan was appointed Governor of West Bengal, B.V. Wanchoo became Governor of Goa, and Shashi Kant Sharma was designated as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

CBI investigation

In January 2014, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sought permission from the Union Law Ministry to record testimonies of M. K. Narayanan and B. V. Wanchoo. At that time, Narayanan and Wanchoo were serving as Governors of West Bengal and Goa, respectively. Their statements held significance since both had previously occupied critical roles—Narayanan as the National Security Adviser and Wanchoo as the head of the Special Protection Group (SPG)—during the period when the contract with AgustaWestland was finalized. Additionally, their insights had been taken into account prior to the Indian Government's approval of the deal. Nonetheless, the Union Law Ministry under Kapil Sibal obstructed the CBI's efforts by denying access to question them, citing "immunity" as justification. Consequently, the CBI escalated the matter to President Pranab Mukherjee to obtain authorization for interviewing the former NSA and SPG chief. Subsequently, M. K. Narayanan was interrogated by the CBI in June 2014, followed by B. V. Wanchoo in July 2014.

Bank guarantee recovery

Following the annulment of the contract, India encashed a bank guarantee exceeding Template:INRConvert provided by AgustaWestland through Indian banks in January 2014. In parallel, India formally requested assistance from the Italian government to recover a bank guarantee held by AgustaWestland in Italian banks amounting to over €275 million (approximately Template:INR 23.64 billion). However, on 17 March 2014, an Italian court dismissed India's appeal for recovering this amount. This decision was later overturned by Milan’s appellate court, which ruled in favor of India's claim. Acting on this ruling, in June 2014, the Indian government encashed an additional Template:INRConvert, bringing total recoveries to Template:INRConvert at that point. This sum represented the full recovery of about Template:INRConvert—equivalent to 45% of the total contract value of Template:INRConvert—that had been paid to AgustaWestland. Nevertheless, subsequent reports indicated that AgustaWestland retained €106 million for three helicopters it had delivered, rather than returning the entire amount recovered by India.

Italian judicial rulings

The investigation by Italian prosecutors began in late 2011. Upon concluding their inquiry, the case was forwarded to the Court of Busto Arsizio for trial. In October 2014, the Italian judiciary acquitted former IAF Chief S. P. Tyagi of all allegations related to corruption. Likewise, former Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi and ex-AgustaWestland head Bruno Spagnolini were found not guilty of "international corruption" charges. Nevertheless, they were convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment for the lesser offense of "false invoicing" connected to the matter. Subsequently, on 8 April 2016, the Milan Court of Appeal reversed this decision in a detailed 225-page ruling, sentencing Giuseppe Orsi to four years in prison.

On 16 December 2016, Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassazione annulled the Appeals Court conviction and mandated a new trial, transferring the case to a separate Milan Court of Appeal. After nearly nine months of legal proceedings, on 8 January 2018, the Milan Third Court of Appeals acquitted all defendants and dismissed the charges due to insufficient evidence presented by the prosecution. This acquittal was later confirmed by the Supreme Court of Cassazione on 22 May 2019, following an unsuccessful appeal attempt by the Milan General Prosecutor’s office supported by the Attorney General.Template:Fix/category