To quicken the process of tracking the money trail in the alleged multi-billion dollar AgustaWestland chopper scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has written to the Ministry of External Affairs asking it to speed up the Letters of Rogatory (LR) to eight countries.
The CBI had written to the MEA last week asking it to speed up the LRs, or in other words judicial requests, through diplomatic channels.
“We won’t be able to further investigate the money trail and ascertain the links till we get a response,” a senior CBI official said.
According to CBI sources, so far it has got a complete response from Italy and part reply from British Virgin Islands, UK and Tunisia. It is yet to get a formal reply from the UAE, Singapore, Switzerland and Mauritius.
Meanwhile, the CBI on Wednesday interrogated Delhi-based lawyer Gautam Khaitan, one of the accused in the chopper scam for money laundering. He was arrested in 2014. During the interrogation, Khaitan admitted to obtaining money and was instrumental in the setting up of a shell company — IDS Tunisia — a subsidiary of IDS India, which has been named in the original FIR.
“It was found out that a lot of money was coming into this company,” the CBI official said adding that the money was then being routed through Mauritius and other countries before entering India.
Additionally, former Chief of Indian Air Force SP Tyagi was summoned for the third day on Wednesday.