ITALIAN COURT ON AGUSTAWESTLAND CASE

On Monday, January 8, 2018, the Italian Court of Appeal of Milan has acquitted Giuseppe Orsi, former President of Italian defence and aerospace major Finmeccanica and Bruno Spagnolin, former CEO of its subsidiary AgustaWestland, of corruption charges involving a multi-crore deal with India for VVIP helicopters. The decision of the Court was based on lack of evidence on account of which the charges against the two executives could not be substantiated. The development came more than a year after a court sentenced Orsi to 4.5 years and Spagnolini to four years in jail on corruption charges related to a ` 3,600 crore contract to supply a dozen helicopters to New Delhi. The case against Orsi and Spagnolini was a result of an investigation launched in 2012.