New Delhi: India has canceled a €556 million ($764 million) helicopter contract with a unit of Italian defense contractor Finmeccanica SpA after accusations that the company used bribes to obtain the deal.
India had ordered 12 helicopters from AgustaWestland—the Anglo-Italian helicopter division of Finmeccanica—in 2010 to use for its leading politicians. While three of the helicopters have already been delivered, India has decided to terminate the order.
In a statement Wednesday, the defense ministry said it has terminated the rest of the pact with AgustaWestland International Ltd. with immediate effect. The defense ministry didn't comment on the fate of the three helicopters already delivered under the contract.
The Indian government had been rethinking the deal amid a corruption probe related to the sale of AgustaWestland's AW101 helicopters to India. Giuseppe Orsi resigned as chief executive of Finmeccanica, the helicopter maker's parent company, after his arrest in February in Italy on fraud and corruption charges for allegedly overseeing the use of bribes to win the contract. His trial continues in northern Italy. Mr. Orsi has denied any wrongdoing.
01/01/14 Santanu Choudhury/Wall Street Journal
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India had ordered 12 helicopters from AgustaWestland—the Anglo-Italian helicopter division of Finmeccanica—in 2010 to use for its leading politicians. While three of the helicopters have already been delivered, India has decided to terminate the order.
In a statement Wednesday, the defense ministry said it has terminated the rest of the pact with AgustaWestland International Ltd. with immediate effect. The defense ministry didn't comment on the fate of the three helicopters already delivered under the contract.
The Indian government had been rethinking the deal amid a corruption probe related to the sale of AgustaWestland's AW101 helicopters to India. Giuseppe Orsi resigned as chief executive of Finmeccanica, the helicopter maker's parent company, after his arrest in February in Italy on fraud and corruption charges for allegedly overseeing the use of bribes to win the contract. His trial continues in northern Italy. Mr. Orsi has denied any wrongdoing.
01/01/14 Santanu Choudhury/Wall Street Journal
