The Swiss authorities have confirmed they will extradite to Italy a business consultant suspected of being involved in a bribery case connected to an Italian-British helicopter deal with India.
The individual, a dual US and Italian citizen, was arrested on October 17 at his Swiss residence in the southern canton of Ticino. The extradition procedure was concluded after the businessman refrained from appealing his extradition, Folco Galli, spokesman for the Federal Office for Justice, told swissinfo.ch.
«He will soon be extradited to Italy,» Galli said. «He is suspected of being a middleman involved in kickback payments in connection with the supply of helicopters to India.»
The arrested businessman is one of three individuals suspected of helping to swing a contract with the Indian Ministry of Defence in favour of helicopter-manufacturer AgustaWestland, a British-based subsidiary of Italian conglomerate Finmeccanica.
Investigations in Italy and elsewhere in Europe over the past months have indicated that AgustaWestland and parent company Finmeccanica may have paid bribes to secure the contract for the supply of 12 helicopters meant to ferry the Indian president, prime minister and other VVIPs. India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating the case.
The arrest in Switzerland is likely to help the CBI to establish the trail of kickbacks to Indian officials and nail the accused in the bribery scandal, the Times of India reported on October 19. This would also strengthen the defence ministry’s case to cancel the contract.
The Italian prosecutor who carried out the preliminary inquiry has alleged that AgustaWestland executives used middlemen to secure the deal. According to an Indian Express report, they had paid millions of euros to influence politicians and decision makers in Italy and India. Finmeccanica’s chief executive officer was arrested in Milan in February 2012.
At the same time, the CBI started an enquiry into allegations of unethical dealings in the VVIP helicopter deal. Investigators said at the time that the probe involved five private individuals, three European middlemen as well as private companies in Italy, Britain and India. The probe included raids to the homes of the former chief of staff of the Indian Air Force.
The Indian government said that the contract it signed includes provisions against bribery and the use of undue influence, and entitles the buyer to cancel the contract and recover any losses. Last week, the Indian ministry of defence asked AgustaWestland to give reasons why the contract should not be cancelled. The company has 21 days to file its reply.