Delhi (The Stellar News): Delhi court has summoned four ex-IAF officers in the Rs. 3600 crore AugustaWestland Scam. The officers have been asked to appear before the court on July 30, 2022. CBI informed the court that the required sanctions have been taken. CBI is probing the Rs. 3600 crore contract for the procurement of 12 AW101 dual-use helicopters (VVIP) by the Ministry of Defense from AugustaWestland.
In February 2010, the UPA government of that time had signed a deal to procure 13 AW choppers worth 555.262 million euros. Choppers were being procured to ferry VVIPs and other important dignitaries. The specifications of the choppers were also changed to benefit AugustaWestland from the original deal and reports later showed that the overall deal was worth Rs. 3600 crore. Names of many Congress leaders were also dragged in this scandal. Middlemen from Dubai and India were also arrested for allegedly receiving bribes to expedite the procurement deal. An estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs. 2,666 crore) to the exchequer in the AugustaWestland deal was enlisted by CBI in its earliest charge-sheets.
Report: Deepanjot Kaur (Under Training)
Source: The information regarding the above mentioned news report is from the site, ‘The Indian Express’, article published on July 18, 2022.
