Christian Michels:
The middleman who is believed to have played a key role in the AgustaWestland helicopter deal. Michels was reportedly paid 18 million euros (Dh75.7 million) by Agusta, through his company Global Services FZE, to buy back 14 discarded Pawan Hans helicopters from Indian Air Force, as a goodwill gesture to help facilitate the larger deal for the sale of 12 HW-101 choppers to New Delhi by AgustaWestland for an estimated $734 million (Dh2.69 billion). However, according to a report in the Economic Times (ET), the Pawan Hans helicopters were never bought back and the entire kitty of 18 million euros may have been siphoned off by Michels to “grease the wheels of decision-making” and facilitate the parent deal of $610 million.
Quoting an Enforcement Directorate official in India, an Economic Times report says a company called Gufic Trading was probably floated by Michels to siphon off 18 million euros from Global Services FZE.
The Italian Court of Appeals has been scathing in its criticism of the role played by Michels and the decision by Agusta to pay him 18 million euros to buy back 14 Pawan Hans helicopters – practically junk material.
Guido Haschke, Carlo Gerosa and Gautam Khaitan
The business-partner duo of Haschke and Gerosa is believed to have been closely involved in bribing people in India to help swing the deal in favour of AgustaWestland. Haschke and Gerosa had reportedly built a complex maze of companies to help route the kickbacks to India, while Delhi-based lawyer Khaitan is believed to have played a key role in moving bribe money in India. The money trail is believed to be so complicated that it may take years for the sleuths to get to the actual recipients of bribes.
S.P. Tyagi:
Interestingly, when tenders were floated inviting bids for 12 specialised, high-security helicopters, one of the key parameters was that these helicopters should be able to fly at an altitude of 6,000 metres. AgustaWestland helicopters did not meet this crucial criteria and therefore did not make the initial short list.
This was when Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi took over as the chief-of-staff in the Indian Air Force and soon, two crucial modifications were introduced in the bidding process: The operational ceiling altitude was reduced from 6,000 metres to 4,500 metres and the cabin height of the helicopters was stipulated to be at a minimum of 1.8 metres. Inclusion of the latter parameter, in particular, was the clincher as it saw AgustaWestland emerge as the sole vendor. Incorporation of these modifications were severely criticised by the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office in India, as cited in an Op-ed piece in Gulf News on August 20, 2013.
It has been alleged that Tyagi’s cousins Rajiv, Sanjeev and Sandeep were actively involved as middlemen in the entire deal and were privy to a lot of insider information that was by all means classified and sensitive data on the Indian Air Force’s exact requirements for the helicopters may have been exchanged between people with vested interests in New Delhi and those in Italy – a serious breach of India’s security and Services protocol.
