The untold AgustaWestland story: Decoding the VVIP chopper scam

Projected as a major setback for Indian investigative agencies, the Milan court's acquittal of the former chief executives of AgustaWestland and Finmeccanica has primarily been a result of the Italian prosecution's failure to establish the suspected money trail in the VVIP chopper deal.

A closer look at the CBI's original chargesheet, seen by India Today, shows the dossier has extensively focused on the passage of money allegedly routed through various shell companies in Tunisia and Mauritius.

In 2016, the court had sentenced Orsi to 4.5 years in jail for false accounting and corruption in the deal for 12 VVIP choppers, while Spagnolini was handed a four-year sentence. Bribes worth Rs 423 crore to Indian government officials were given to bag the the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland helicopter deal in 2010.