No time frame on probe into Agusta case till responses to LRs received: CBI to government

NEW DELHI: The CBI has informed the government that no time frame to finalise the investigation into the AgustaWestland chopper case can be fixed till responses to all the Letters Rogatory (LRs) are received from countries concerned, the Defence Ministry has told a parliamentary panel.

The probe agency has already informed the Ministry of Defence that Letters Rogatory have been issued to eight countries -- Italy, Tunisia, Mauritius, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, Britain, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland.

Letter Rogatory is a document making a request through a foreign court to obtain information or evidence from a specified person within the jurisdiction of that court.

This was conveyed to the Committee on Government Assurance by the Ministry of Defence on May 4, 2016.

The report of the committee was tabled in the Lok Sabha today.

The Ministry also asked the Committee to consider dropping/deletion of the 'Assurance' since the execution of Letters Rogatory was note in the hands of the CBI, which was declined by the Committee.

The Assurances in this regard imply the response given by the Ministry of Defence on the ongoing investigation into the VVIP choppers deal.

"Finalisation of the investigation into the VVIP chopper deal depends on receipt of Letters Rogatory to eight countries and the CBI has informed that no time limit to finalise the investigation into the case can be fixed unless the complete response of the Letters Rogatory are received from the concerned authorities," the Ministry told the panel.

The CBI last week arrested former Air Force Chief S P Tyagi, his cousin Sanjeev, and a lawyer in the Rs 450 crore bribery case in the procurement of 12 VVIP helicopters from UK-based AgustaWestland during the UPA-II government.