Cancelling Finmeccanica deal won’t be easy: Khurshid
16 Feb 2013
After Italian authorities revealed that defence contractor Finmeccanica paid bribes to secure a Rs3,600 with India for 12 AgustaWestland helicopters, India is moving to scrap the deal.
The defence ministry has issued a show cause notice to Finmeccanica seeking cancellation of the contract. The company has been given seven days to respond, though the contract will remain suspended effective immediately, an official statement said.
The notice also asks Finmeccanica if it has violated clauses of the contract by paying bribes to secure the deal. According to Italian prosecutors, the company paid up to Rs300 crore in kickbacks.
''The defence ministry issued a formal showcause notice to AgustaWestland, seeking cancellation of the contract and taking other actions, according to the terms of the contract,'' a defence ministry spokesman said.
However, external affairs minister Salman Khurshid suggested in a TV interview today that immediate cancellation of the deal would not be possible.
"We have attempted to get details but because of procedural issues, which continue even now. There has been a paucity of specific information on which objective decisions could be taken about an investigation," Khurshid said.
