Finmeccanica Offers To Pay Penalty And 'Settle The Matter' With Indian MoD

Finmeccanica plans to make a comeback in India even if it means paying a penalty for bribery allegations against its subsidiary AgustaWestland in the VVIP chopper deal, Hindustan Times, a national daily reported Monday.

Earlier this year, India imposed a partial ban on Finmeccanica and its subsidiaries after scrapping the $606 million deal to buy 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland.

However, the company says it is prepared to put a new proposal to mend ties with India. “Everything is on the table, including the possibility of paying a penalty to settle the matter. It doesn’t mean we are guilty. It’s just that we want to end the deadlock and regain the government’s confidence.” Mauro Moretti, the new CEO of Finmeccanica was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

“Legal proceedings in Italy had exonerate the firm and held it was not criminally liable for the alleged actions of former top executives. AgustaWestland, however, paid around $449,000 as fine after the firm entered into a settlement with the prosecutors,” he said.

The verdict in the cases against former Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi and former AgustaWestland boss Bruno Spagnolini is expected this week, the report said.

Moretti added that he has written to defense minister Arun Jaitley and sought to discuss the outcome of the legal proceedings in India.