Agusta Westland scam: CBI formally charges ex-Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi, 8 others

Agusta Westland scam: CBI formally charges ex-Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi, 8 others

The CBI on Friday formally charged former Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi and 8 others in the VVIP chopper scam.

The chargesheet also named former Air Chief's cousin Sanjeev alias Julie and advocate Gautam Khaitan in the Rs 450 crore chopper deal bribery case.

CBI had alleged that Khaitan was the 'brain' behind how the bribe money reached India and several firms, through which the money travelled, came into existence and that Sanjeev was known to alleged European middleman Carlo Gerosa.

The ex-Air Chief, who was arrested on December 9 in the Agusta Westland bribery case last year, was later given bail by the special CBI court .

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar had granted the relief to the retired Air Chief on a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh and one surety of like amount.

This is the first time a defence chief, retired or present, has been charged in a scam. Tyagi served as Air Chief between 2005 and 2007.

According to the CBI, Tyagi had allegedly entered into a conspiracy with the other accused in 2005 and conceded to change the Air Force’s consistent stand. The revised requirements helped AgustaWestland to meet the eligibility criteria for the contract.

According to an NDTV report, investigators said there were evidence that Tyagi met with a top official of Finmeccanica when he was Air Chief.

(With agency inputs)