Bofors accused Quattrocchi gets away; court allows closure

New Delhi: A magistrate's court in Delhi has accepted a plea made by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for closure of the criminal case against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi indicted in the Bofors pay-off scam. In his order the chief metropolitan magistrate said the CBI's plea was allowed in larger public interest.

CBI sought closure of the case on the basis of failed attempts to extradite Quattrocchi.

Deciding in favour of the plea the court said it was keenly aware of the fact that the government had already incurred expenditures of Rs250 crore in its repeated, and failed, attempts to extradite the Italian businessman.

Chief metropolitan magistrate, Vinod Yadav, had earlier on 21 February deferred his order on the CBI plea seeking withdrawal of the case against Quattrocchi.

Earlier, the CBI had pleaded before the court that the ruling of income tax appellate tribunal in the Bofors pay-off case is 'nothing new' and its application for withdrawing the proceedings against Quattrocchi should be allowed. The tribunal had ruled that it was established that arms agents, the late Win Chaddha and Ottavio Quattrochi, had received pay-offs in the scam and so were liable for taxes.

In its ruling the tribunal also claimed that the kickbacks resulted in India paying almost Rs160 crore extra for the guns.