Tue, Feb 19, 2013
Finmeccanica CEO Arrested, Resigns Over The Scandal
The Indian Defense Ministry has given AgustaWestland a short 7-day deadline for an explanation as to why a helicopter contract should not be cancelled. The company is embroiled in a bribery scandal that resulted in the arrest of Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi February 12th.
The company is accused of corruption, tax fraud, and making illegal payments in connection with the sale of 12 AW101 helicopters to India. Three have already been delivered, according to Bloomberg News.
Finmeccanica is Italy's largest defence contractor. On February 14, they moved Alessandro Pansa into the CEO position. The company acknowledged that the New Delhi government has asked for an explanation of the deal, but denies that it is a cancellation of the contract. In a statement, AgustaWestland said it is "confident that the full compliance with the relevant laws as well as the good conduct of its past and present senior executives and managers will be demonstrated as soon as practicable.”
Analysts in India say that if the helicopter deal collapses, it could have a ripple effect on other contracts between Finmeccanica and the New Delhi government. One indicated that "blacklisting" Finmeccanica "can't be ruled out."
In a separate release, the Finmeccanica board said the company is "fully operational" under the leadership of Pansa. They deny any wrongdoing in securing the contract over competing helicopters from the U.S. and Russia.
(Indian Air Force AW101 pictured in file image)
More News
Aero Linx: JAARS Nearly 1.5 billion people, using more than 5,500 languages, do not have a full Bible in their first language. Many of these people live in the most remote parts of>[...]
'Airplane Bounced Twice On The Grass Runway, Resulting In The Nose Wheel Separating From The Airplane...' Analysis: The pilot reported, “upon touchdown, the plane jumped back>[...]
"Burt is best known to the public for his historic designs of SpaceShipOne, Voyager, and GlobalFlyer, but for EAA members and aviation aficionados, his unique concepts began more t>[...]
"Polaris Dawn, the first of the program’s three human spaceflight missions, is targeted to launch to orbit no earlier than summer 2024. During the five-day mission, the crew >[...]
There Are SO Many Ways To Get YOUR Aero-News! It’s been a while since we have reminded everyone about all the ways we offer your daily dose of aviation news on-the-go...so he>[...]