New Delhi: On the second day of questioning on alleged corruption in the controversial Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland choppers deal, former IAF chief S P Tyagi accepted that he had met officials of Finmeccanica, CBI sources said today.
According to the sources, Tyagi told CBI interrogators that he met Giorgio Zappa, COO of Finmeccanica in 2005 in India. While he had refuted the allegations during his gruelling 10-hour questioning yesterday, Tyagi's admission came after the agency confronted him with fresh evidence, they added.
Tyagi is currently being questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation following a ruling by an Italian court which indicated corruption in the deal.
Besides the meeting, Tyagi was also quizzed over his foreign visits following his retirement. Tyagi, sources said, told CBI that he had financial interests in three companies.
The ex-IAF chief is accused of modifying the requirements in order to seal the deal with AgustaWestland.
The Milan court order also said that the Tyagi brothers – Sanjeev Kumar (Juli), Docsa and Sandeep – knew even before Tyagi became IAF chief on December 2004 that the Defence Ministry was planning to lower the altitude requirements for the helicopters.
Tyagi’s admission comes after the Milan court’s ruling stated that Air Chief Marshal (retd) SP Tyagi had met several AgustaWestland officials in the presence of his cousins during his incumbency, contradicting Tyagi’s earlier claim that his cousins acted alone and that he was not aware of the change in specifications of the helicopter.
The agency has questioned him on various aspects of the case including his alleged links with middlemen, his alleged trips to Italy, reasons behind changing specifications, and relations with his cousins yesterday, the sources said.
Recently, the Milan Court of Appeals in Italy had concluded that bribes were paid to clinch the deal. CBI had registered a case against Tyagi along with 13 others including his cousins and European middlemen.
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