Ex-IAF Chief Tyagi was bribed to swing chopper deal, says Italy probe

[Abingdonboy]

No No I'm not undermining the need of a world class chopper for select few (people you mentioned), they need all the safety during flight. Infact there was a huge embarasement for the establishment when Andhra's CM YSR was killed in a chopper crash. Nobody would want such a situation to arise again.
But i do maintain my stand that if there are irregularities in purchase (tweaking of specification, kickbacks etc), the deal should not go through, let there be a fresh tender, IAF has waited very long for higher priority items, i'm sute this project too can wait a little longer.

As for the media frenzy, i todays highly biased media, wait till next breaking news arrives, this one will too fade away.

No doubt- any irregularities that are proven will result in automatic blacklisting of AW, scrapping of deal and probes into all concerned.

 

[axisofevil]

So the Chief is blamed just because one of his relatives is involved? He wasn't even the chief when the deal was struck. And Air HQ has no authority to change the GSQR at a later stage once it has been approved.

Yeah right THINK TANK.....you don;t have a clue. Just plz be quiet and read.

 

[Abingdonboy]

Prasun K. Sengupta:

What the Italian investigations have so far revealed is that there are only allegations. There is not even circumstantial evidence to indicate a money-trial leading directly to former CAS ACM S P Tyagi, hence usage of the term ‘unquantified’ in the report. Secondly, as was rightly pointed out, in 2003 the then PS to PM & NSA the late Brajesh Mishra had decided to dilute the performance parameters (especially the service ceiling) to ensure that a single-vendor situation did not develop. He was right is doing so & as a result of this there was a competitive bidding process involving the Sikorsky S-92 Superhawk & AgustaWestland AW-101. The Eurocopter EC-725 Cougar Mk2 & Kazan Helicopter Plant’s Mi-17V-5 were both disqualified from bidding since they both did not have the ‘stand-up’ cabin as specified by the ASQR. In the end, based purely on performance superiority (including the vital three-engine capability), the AW-101 won, just as it had won the competition to supply the US President’s Marine 1 transport helicopter. Therefore, from a qualitative standpoint, the AW-101 was & ramains without any other equal—period. Secondly, such VVIP helicopters are meant not just for India’s President & PM, but also for other visiting Heads of State & Heads of Govt whenever they have to travel internally within India. The three armed services chiefs too are entitled to use them depending on the seriousness of their requirements. Consequently, a minimum of 12 such helicopters are required. Therefore, for former MPs like Manvendra Singh to say (on TV earlier tonight) that a ‘poor’ country ought to go for only three such helicopters is downright mischievous, ill-conceived, & moronic!!!
Now, coming to the bare-bones of this case, there’s no cover-up going on in India because the plot was hatched & carried out in Italy & the principal monetary beneficiaries are also based in Italy. Does one mean to say that in return for allegedly favouring the AW-101 for acquisition, the Indian parties will receive only 21 million Euros, while the Italian political parties will receive slush funds worth more than 30 million Euros? What kind of logic is that? Anyone who thinks along such lines, especially in India, can justifiably be called a MORON. In conclusion, it is an open-and-shut money laundering case: the Italians used the AW-101 contract to generate slush funds for political purposes in Italy & there was no hanky-panky involved in the AW-101’s selection process by anyone in India. But the ‘desi’ mass-media of India will as usual run around like headless chicken. After all, what else can one expect from the INDIAN EXPRESS whose Editor last April had claimed that the Arjun MBT’s cannon was supplied by Rheinmetall & earlier tonight on NDTV made yet another outrageous claim by stating that even after 27 years of R & D the Arjun MBT is yet to enter service!!! If I were to swing such a major deal in anyone’s favour & if I knew what quantum of the contract value is to be paid as commission, I certainly would not be satisfied with a part-payment of just 100,000 or even 500,000 Euros….that’s common sense, which regrettably continues to elude most of the gullible Indians who are basing their conclusions on the ‘desi’ mass-media’s so-called revelations.

 

[Thorough Pro]

Corruption has deep seated roots in indian millitary purchases, which is also glaringly evident from the huge import of millitary stuff from foreign countries instead of focussing on making such stuff eith in india which has quite advanced industry infrastructure and huge human resource pool to support that.

Most patriotic Indians not knowing the real reasons behind thses flashy imports take so much pride in these purchases and support their millitary, which in reality is buing all this stuff for the hefty kickbacks. It's been going on since 1948 and will always remain there because of huge margins associated with millitary hardware and foreign firms using unethical methods, bribes, women, etc to influence buying decisions.

Had all this money been spent on local buying, it would have benefitted both local industry and population, but again both politicians and millitary high brass is only interested in their personal gains only.

 

[Abingdonboy]

Corruption has deep seated roots in indian millitary purchases, which is also glaringly evident from the huge import of millitary stuff from foreign countries instead of focussing on making such stuff eith in india which has quite advanced industry infrastructure and huge human resource pool to support that.

Most patriotic Indians not knowing the real reasons behind thses flashy imports take so much pride in these purchases and support their millitary, which in reality is buing all this stuff for the hefty kickbacks. It's been going on since 1948 and will always remain there because of huge margins associated with millitary hardware and foreign firms using unethical methods, bribes, women, etc to influence buying decisions.

Had all this money been spent on local buying, it would have benefitted both local industry and population, but again both politicians and millitary high brass is only interested in their personal gains only.

Wow a post devoid of ANY facts just full of rhetoric and out and out lies. One only has to read the latest defence procurement policy of India to see how stringent the regulations are. Corruption on defence cases is noehere near as easy nor prevelent as you'd like us to believe.


This particualr case is more to do with Italian corruption than Indian corruption. Read the post above.

 

[Thorough Pro]

As I said, keep taking pride in so called systems "on paper", papers do not enforce systems, humans do and humans are social and selfish, an din large hirarchial organizations like governemnts an dmillitary no one wants to create waves, everything works out quite smoothly in the end, except for some idiotic journalists who do cause some momentary inconvenience.

Wow a post devoid of ANY facts just full of rhetoric and out and out lies. One only has to read the latest defence procurement policy of India to see how stringent the regulations are. Corruption on defence cases is noehere near as easy nor prevelent as you'd like us to believe.


This particualr case is more to do with Italian corruption than Indian corruption. Read the post above.

 

[jatt+gutts]

100 may say 99 baimaan fir b mera bharat mahan....kee banuga esh desh da. we should have death penalty for corruption only then india can progress otherwise duniya aggay nikal ju ge tay assi reh jawahgay pichay. these sort of incidents make us indians ashamed

 

[Ayush]

corruption.

 

[axisofevil]

At least I feel vindicated. Corruption has been so entrenched in our forces for decades. One only has to look prior to 2002 to see the sad state our equipment. That is only because of corruption and zero planning.

 

[zaxcolix]

So the Chief is blamed just because one of his relatives is involved? He wasn't even the chief when the deal was struck. And Air HQ has no authority to change the GSQR at a later stage once it has been approved.

Ex Air Chief Tyagi says he was chief of air staff only during 2004 to 2007, however he conveniently forgets to mention that when the RFP was modified to made to make AW eligible, he was the AOC-in-C of Central Air Command.

In his position it is unpardonable for him to entertain his cousins who are Arms Dealers. The conclusion to be drawn is an obvious one.

He now claims that he had No Idea that all his 3 cousins brothers had dealing with AW ............I guess all this must be a huge coincidence.

Problem is 1000 crores has already been paid out and we are now stuck with 3 helicopters ...not to mention additional 1000 crores for maintaining them for the next 20 years.

Add to that this scandal will again delay defence purchases in India. Air Chief has done a great disservice to India....even if he did not personally take money (....looks unlikely).

 

[zaxcolix]

Some more Facts about this case ....

shocker-italy-names-ex-air-chief-in-chopper-bribery-scam

........‘St Antony’ signalled that he would get to the bottom of the Rs 3,548-crore deal to secure helicopters for VVIPs; he even instructed Indian diplomats in Italy to keep track of the investigation there and keep him informed.

But, of course, the cardinal rule of investigations into corruption in India is that if you don’t want to find evidence of corruption, you won’t. So after writing proforma letters to the Italian and British authorities, the babus in the Defence Ministry expressed an inability to carry forward the investigation since there had been no response from those countries.

If Antony and Defence Ministry officials really wanted the investigation to yield results – and names – there were plenty of leads to be had closer home, in Indian media reports. The Indian Express, which has inarguably done the most diligent follow-through on the Agusta Westland deal, has over the past year published several reports on the Indian end of the transaction, particularly the allegation that Indian middlemen too had received kickbacks to seal the deal. The newspaper had even published the names of the beneficiaries, including – sensationally – a ‘Julie’ Tyagi, the cousin of the former Air Force chief SP Tyagi, during whose tenure the Agusta Westland deal was finalised in 2006.

.........The Indian Express further reveals that the Italian preliminary inquiry report names Julie Tyagi (whose official name is Sanjeev Kumar Tyagi) and two of his brothers – referred to as Sandeep Tyagi and Docsa Tyagi – as the Indian intermediaries who were paid kickbacks, which they then passed on to Indian officials. The payments were facilitated by Orsi, who was arrested on Tuesday, two other middlemen – Guido Haschke and Christian Michel – and Carlo Gerosa, a business associate.....

...The most sensational portion of the preliminary inquiry report is where it says that the facilitators “promised and managed to pay, through brothers Julie Tyagi, Docsa Tyagi and Sandeep Tyagi, a certain amount of money, not yet quantified, to Air Chief Marshal Shashi Tyagi, Chief of Staff in the Indian Air Force from 2004 to 2007 – a public officer or anyway in charge of functions and activities equivalent to those of a public officer in India – to perform and for having performed a deed against his office duties.”..

...The first tender that was floated for the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters specified that the helicopters should be able to fly at 6,000 metres. But in a second tender, floated in 2006, lowered that altitude specification, which allowed the AW 101 to qualify....

...But it appears that in this case, the ‘money trail’ may not be easy to establish. In an earlier recorded conversation that Italian investigators have audio recordings of, the middleman Haschke tells Gerosa that if he were questioned by Indian courts about the alleged kickbacks, he would say that he blew up the money on “ballerinas and champagne”. In any case, since the kickbacks had been paid in cash, there would be no money trail, he said....

...According to documents submitted last year by Italian investigators, during the conversation, Gerosa plays the role of an Indian judge to test Haschke’s reflexes at lying about the ‘slush funds’ that he had received from Finmeccanica (some of which were paid to Italian politicians).

In that role, Gerosa asks Haschke: “Tell us, you collected the money, where have you kept it?”

To which, Haschke responds: “Eh, I collected it, it’s my f***ing business where I have kept it. I didn’t pay anyone.”

Gerosa: “Ok, but where have you kept it?”

Haschke: “I wasted it on ballerinas and champgne. And then…

Gerosa: “Yes, but 10-15 million euros on ballerinas and champagne…”

Haschke: “Ballerinas and champagne. They anyway have to demonstrate I took it (the money)…

In another part of the conversation, while discussing the payments to Julie Tyagi, Gerosa says that Indian prosecutors would never be able to prove corruption in the deal – because the payments were made in cash. In any case, he says, the Indian investigators are “morons’ and there is no link.

Gerosa says at one point that while both Haschke and himself, being men in the front, were vulnerable, “the only one who has no risks is Julie… There is really no link there because, I mean… cash.”

To which Haschke says: “Exactly, so they (the judges) will never be able to prove that corruption was there.

 

[KRAIT]

Look what's the state of the Former Chief.

Live TV | Watch Times Now, Zoom TV, India TV, ET Now, Star Ananda, Star Majha, Star News, Headlines Today, Aajtak, Sahara Samay, Manorama News Online - Indiatimes Live

He will be grilled. Good example should be set.

This also raises doubts that may be IAF intentionally wanted LCA and other projects by constantly changing requirements to make them delayed to get Foreign Maal.

@sancho @Abingdonboy @arp2041 What's your take ? I know its a far fetched theory and may be baseless conspiracy theory. But still, it worth a look.

 

[Abingdonboy]

Look what's the state of the Former Chief.

Live TV | Watch Times Now, Zoom TV, India TV, ET Now, Star Ananda, Star Majha, Star News, Headlines Today, Aajtak, Sahara Samay, Manorama News Online - Indiatimes Live

He will be grilled. Good example should be set.

This also raises doubts that may be IAF intentionally wanted LCA and other projects by constantly changing requirements to make them delayed to get Foreign Maal.

@sanchi @Abingdonboy @arp2041 What's your take ? I know its a far fetched theory and may be baseless conspiracy theory. But still, it worth a look.

Sorry @KRAIT - I'm not convinced at all!

 

[Paan Singh]

now wait for rafale ..

and it will storm down the parliament like never before and value will be 3-4 billions

Tyagi is just an poor guy who will be blamed for whole point but its known to every body that he cant eat 360 crore without political presence.

 

[rashtriya.rifles]

As I said, keep taking pride in so called systems "on paper", papers do not enforce systems, humans do and humans are social and selfish, an din large hirarchial organizations like governemnts an dmillitary no one wants to create waves, everything works out quite smoothly in the end, except for some idiotic journalists who do cause some momentary inconvenience.

Beta .. IA chief has court martial-ed even Lt. Generals also (sukhna Land Scam), and that too no hard evidence was there against them of accepting money or gaining any other favours etc.... What was proved was their intent to do corruption. !!

So, please just shut the F up if you don't know what you are talking about !!