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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 Indian helicopter bribery scandal | 1/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Indian_helicopter_bribery_scandal | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T14:11:50.606118+00:00 | kb-cron |
The AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, was an Indian helicopter bribery scandal by Indian National Congress led UPA Government that lead to a multimillion-dollar corruption case in India, wherein money was paid to middlemen and Indian officials in 2006 and 2007 to purchase helicopters for high level politicians. As per the CBI, this amounted to ₹2.5 billion (US$26 million), transferred through bank accounts in the UK and UAE. It came to light in early 2013, when an Indian national parliamentary investigation began into allegations of bribery and corruption involving several senior officials and the European helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland surrounding the purchase of a new fleet of helicopters. The scandal has been referred to as the Chopper scam or Choppergate by the media and popular press. Several Indian Congress politicians and military officials were accused of accepting bribes from AgustaWestland in order to win the ₹3.6 billion (US$38 million) Indian contract for the supply of 12 AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters; these helicopters are intended to perform VVIP duties for the President of India and other important state officials. Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, is alleged by Italian prosecutors to have received kickbacks from the deal. A note presented in the Italian court, sent by middleman Christian Michel (who was extradited to India on 4 December 2018), asks Peter Hulett, an AgustaWestland employee, to target key advisors to Sonia Gandhi and lists their names as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Ahmed Patel, Pranab Mukherjee, M. Veerappa Moily, Oscar Fernandes, M. K. Narayanan and Vinay Singh. The note also contains the bribes to be paid out, divided as "AF" €6 million, "BUR" €8.4 million, "Pol" €6 million and "AP" €3 million. On 8 January 2018, the third Court of Appeals of Milan acquitted the defendants on all charges Abhay Tyagi was also accused to have received kickbacks worth ₹69,00,000. The case continues to be investigated in India by the Indian government and the CBI.
== Overview == The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a contract to purchase 12 AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters in February 2010 for the Communication Squadron of Indian Air Force to carry the president, PM and other VVIPs. Controversy over the contract came to light on 12 February 2013 with the arrest of Giuseppe Orsi, the CEO of Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland's parent company by Italian authorities over corruption and bribery charges; the following day Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony ordered a probe into the contract.
== Critical events == On 25 March 2013, India's Defence Minister A. K. Antony confirmed corruption allegations by stating: "Yes, corruption has taken place in the helicopter deal and bribes have been taken. The CBI is pursuing the case very vigorously." As of June 2014, the Indian government has recovered a total amount of ₹20.68 billion (US$220 million) and has recovered around ₹16.2 billion (US$170 million) (45% of the total contract value ₹36 billion (US$380 million)) it had paid to AgustaWestland. On 8 April 2016, the Milan Court of Appeal, in a 225-page judgement, overturned a lower court verdict and convicted helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland's executive Giuseppe Orsi to four years' imprisonment for paying a €30 million bribe to Indian politicians, bureaucrats and Indian Air Force officials. On 9 December 2016, the CBI arrested former Indian Air Force Chief S. P. Tyagi along with his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan. In September 2017, the CBI filed a formal chargesheet against S. P. Tyagi and nine others. On 16 December 2016, the Italian Supreme Court of Cassazione cancelled the April 2016 conviction sentence, and ordered a retrial to be held again in Milan. On 8 January 2018, the third Court of Appeals of Milan acquitted the defendants on all charges On 5 December 2018, Christian Michel, the alleged middleman was extradited to India from Dubai. On 31 January 2019, Another co-accused Rajeev Saxena and lobbyist Deepak Talwar were extradited to India from Dubai. In April 2019 Supplementary charge-sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate mentioned name of the three journalists including Shekhar Gupta with Raju Santhanam and Manu Pubby. On 22 May 2019, Giuseppe Orsi was fully acquitted of all charges by the Italian judiciary. Guido Ralph Haschke, who had been accused of being a middleman in the helicopter deal, was fully and finally acquitted of all charges by the Appeals Court of Brescia on June 30, 2025, thus proving all accusations to be false. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/italy-court-acquits-consultant-india-helicopter-case-2025-07-01/