(REOPENS DES 37)

The Defence Ministry said after receiving a letter from Edmund Allen of Ganton Limited of the US about the involvement of businessman Abhishek Verma in defence deals it was informed by the Enforcement Directorate in July 2012 that they were enquiring into the allegations. "In October 2012, Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma also wrote to Secretary (West) to take up the matter with the the UK in view of the alleged involvement of a British citizen and the fact that the contract was signed with Agusta Westland," it said. The fact-sheet stated that in November 2012, Secretary (West) of the External Affairs Ministry replied to the Defence Secretary stating that "the UK authorities were waiting for the results of the Italian investigation in order to ascertain whether there are further actions to take". Meanwhile, on the impact of the scam on the other defence deals involving the Italian firm Finnmeccanica, Defence Ministry sources said a decision in this regard would be taken after the completion of CBI probe into the charges. The Italian firm, which is the umbrella organisation for several defence firms including Selex, Wass and Agusta Westland, is taking part in several Indian defence tenders. If blacklisted, the whole group would not be allowed to take part in any defence tenders for a government-specified time-period.