Italian CEO’s dodgy champagne style
“You cannot always win”.
This is the message Finmeccanica chief Giuseppe Orsi sent along with a bottle of champagne to his rivals American Sikorsky in a five-star hotel in New Delhi a day ahead of the award of the `3,600 crore contract in February 2010, according to the report of the Italian investigators.
Sikorsky and Finmeccan-ica were the two companies shortlisted for the Indian contract for 12 helicopters to ferry VVIPs which was bagged by Finmeccanica.
“Orsi, found himself at a restaurant in New Delhi where (by chance) a delegation of American Sikorsky was also present... Orsi sent a bottle of champagne with a note that says ‘You cannot always win’ to the American table,” said the report by the investigators probing the alleged scam.
After the incident, the head of the American delegation left the room annoyed by the behaviour of the Italian CEO.
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BJP wants sc to montor investigation
Age Correspondent
New Delhi, Feb. 15
Alleging that the Congress-led UPA government avoided a proper inquiry into the alleged VVIP helicopter scam despite the matter coming to light a year ago, the main Opposition BJP on Friday demanded a time-bound Supreme Court-monitored probe into the matter.
The BJP also maintained that the real issues to be probed includes who finalised and signed the contract and the beneficiaries of the alleged kickbacks. Party national secretary Kirit Somaiya, in a letter to the CBI, demanded a probe against a key aide of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, alleging that he played a key role in Italian manufacturer AgustaWestland winning the contract.
BJP national spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said, “The issue is not technical specification, the real issues are the corruption and the kickbacks and the government’s failure to order a timely probe and find out the Indian beneficiaries... Who finalised and signed the VVIP chopper deal? Who received the kickbacks? In two places, the Italian chargesheet talks about payment of 28 million euros to ‘The Family’. The nation wants to know who ‘The Family’ is?.
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