Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi has been detained under a warrant issued by the court of Busto Arsizio. Mr Orsi faces charges of international corruption for the bribes allegedly paid to close the sale of twelve helicopters to the Indian government. Agusta Westland’s CEO Bruno Spagnolini has been placed under house arrest.
WARRANTS – Two more warrants have been issued for the middlemen who are believed to have delivered the kickbacks and enabled the company to set up a slush fund in order to grease the appropriate palms. As police officers collected those under investigation from their homes, dozens of searches were being carried out at the homes and offices of a number of the defence giant’s top managers. The inquiry, initiated by the Naples public prosecutor’s office, was transferred to Busto Arsizio by the Court of Cassation when Mr Orsi raised a question of jurisdiction.
INQUIRY – Investigations were in the hands of Naples-based public prosecutors Vincenzo Piscitelli and Henry John Woodcock for some time before the file passed to Busto Arsizio. During the early stages of the inquiry, prosecutors in Naples collected a large quantity of documents and evidence against Mr Orsi and the others under investigation.
12/02/13 Corrierre Della Sera
