Former Finmeccanica CEO Found Guilty Of False Invoicing In Indian Helicopter Deal, Acquitted In Bribery Charges

Former CEO of Finmeccanica, Giuseppe Orsi and former CEO of AgustaWestland Bruno Spagnolini have been sentenced to two years in prison in the Indian VVIP helicopter deal scam.

The duo have been found guilty of false invoicing and have been acquitted of alleged bribery charges. 

According to local Italian media reports, the sentence for false invoices is limited to the years 2009 and 2010. Orsi and Spagnolini were also sentenced to one year's disqualification from public office. 

The two plaintiffs, the Inland Revenue and the Indian Defense Ministry, were associated with the prosecution and have asked for compensation for moral damage and assets to be settled separately.

Finmeccanica and its subsidiaries will be allowed to continue doing business in India and will not face blacklisting, India media reported in August.

The Indian government has placed conditions, which will disallow the company from getting any new order where there is another vendor option. The government had previously put all deals with the Finmeccanica group, its affiliates and subsidiaries on hold.

The Defence Ministry decision, for which orders have been issued, will allow the group to continue with ongoing business and compete in other deals.

The MoD, last March, cancelled the $770 million deal with AgustaWestland to acquire 12 helicopters for VVIP use after the CBI lodged a first information report, following a preliminary enquiry and claims of Italian prosecutors that the company paid kickbacks to clinch the deal.