- Augusta Westland VVIP chopper deal was probed by CBI in Feb 2013 after the arrest Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi on alleged kickbacks to Indian officials.
- Contract was signed on Feb 2010 & Augusta Westland had delivered 3 of the 12 helicopters.
- Rs.240 crore worth of guarantees held with Indian banks have already been cashed.
- Finmeccanica filed a plea at the Italian court to prevent Indian Government from cashing back guarantees worth R.2360 crore as part Defence Ministry imposed post-contract termination penalty.
- Italian court barred encashment of bank guarantees from Italian banks owing to breach of pre-contract integrity pact & agreement by the supplier.
- India will vigorously pursue all options at hand to undo this move.
Exams Perspective:
- Augusta Westland Chopper deal
- CBI
- India Italy Bilateral Relations