AgustaWestland: CBI receives response from all eight countries, to begin fresh questioning

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday received reply from all the eight countries to its Letter Rogatory in connection with the Agusta Westland VVIP chopper case.

Sources said the information provided by UAE and Singapore is of crucial importance to the CBI.

"Both countries were recently approached through diplomatic channels for execution of the CBI's letters rogatory (LRs) or judicial requests at the earliest. Now the agency has received responses to the LRs it sent to eight countries for establishing money trail in the Rs. 3,767 crore Agusta Westland VVIP helicopter deal case," said sources.

Mauritius, Tunisia, Italy, British Virgin Island, the UK and Switzerland are the other six countries where Letter Rogatory (a letter of formal request from court to a foreign court) was sent by the CBI, seeking assistance in probe and collection of documents in connection with this case.

The CBI will very soon start a fresh round of questioning.

Former Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal (Retd.) S. P. Tyagi, his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan were arrested on December 10 in connection with this case. The court had on December 17 sent all the three accused to judicial custody till December 30.

The former Air Chief was yesterday granted bail on the condition that he will not leave Delhi or try to contact any witness in the case.

Air Marshal (Retd.) Tyagi, who headed the Indian Air Force between 2004 and 2007, has been accused of abusing his official position to help AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of Italy-based Finmeccanica, win the deal to supply a dozen helicopters meant for the country's top politicians.