Enforcement Directorate books ex-IAF chief for money laundering

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Friday booked former Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal (Retd) S.P. Tyagi and 12 others under the stringent provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland helicopter deal case.

Seven companies including Italy-based Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland, Chandigarh-based IDS Infotech and Aeromatrix, IDS Tunisia, IDS Mauritius and Gordian Services (Tunisia) have also been booked by the Central probe agency in its Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR).

Sources said the ED, which earlier registered a case under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, decided to slap a criminal case to track the illegal money of the bribe, alleged to be over Rs 360 crore, dealt between the middlemen and other people named by CBI in its FIR filed in March 2013.

Taking cognisance of the CBI’s FIR, the ED has booked Mr Tyagi, his cousins — Sanjeev alias Julie, Rajeev alias Docsa and Sandeep, Gautam Khaitan, Praveen Bakshi European middlemen Carlo Gerosa, Christian Michel and Guido Haschke — in its complaint filed under the PMLA.

The agency has also booked brother of former Union minister Santosh Bagrodia, Satish Bagrodia, and Pratap Aggarwal, chairman and managing director of IDS Infotech respectively in its complaint.