The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday filed a supplementary chargesheet against former Air Force Chief SP Tyagi, his two cousins, lawyer Gautam Khaitan, and others in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper bribery scam.

It was filed before Special Judge Arvind Kumar at the Patiala House Courts in Delhi and will be heard on July 20, reported PTI.

The chargesheet, filed through special public prosecutor NK Matta, also names as accused Italian middlemen Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschke as well as Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland’s parent company. It has accused them of laundering over Rs 220 crore, saying various foreign currencies were used as fronts to park the alleged kickbacks.

The AgustaWestland scam

The AgustaWestland helicopter deal, which had snowballed into a huge controversy, is related to an agreement signed in 2010 to buy 12 helicopters from the Italian firm. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government was in power at the time. The deal was put on hold after Italy arrested the head of Finmeccanica in 2013.

On December 9, 2016, the CBI had arrested Tyagi and two others for allegedly accepting kickbacks to influence the purchase of the 12 VVIP helicopters. The CBI had said the deal was worth Rs 3,767 crore, of which 12% was paid in bribes. Tyagi was granted bail on December 26, 2016, while the others got it on January 4, 2017.

In May 2016, the CBI had said two “suspicious” payments were made to accounts held by the former Air Force chief. The agency also learnt that Tyagi was an owner or shareholder in at least five different companies. He retired from his post in the Air Force in 2007.