VVIP chopper deal: Italian court accepts middleman’s plea bargain

THE Italian court that is hearing a case of corruption in the VVIP chopper deal with India has accepted the plea bargain of key accused middleman Guido Haschke, ratifying a settlement that he would serve a 22-month sentence in the case pertaining to international bribery.

The court also decided that despite non-cooperation from India and the CBI to which the prosecution had sent a letter rogatory one year ago for complete tender documents of the deal, the case would go on with the limited number of papers available with the Italian side. Accepting the settlement between Haschke and the prosecution, the court decided that Haschke would get a 22-month sentence for participating in international bribery. The prosecution’s case is that bribes worth 55 million euros were generated to pay officials and politicians in India and Italy.

The court also decided that the hearings would continue although complete tender documents have not been made available by India.