The Delhi High Court on Thursday listed a plea filed by Shivani Saxena, one of the accused in the AgustaWestland VVIP Chopper Scam, for disposal on December 7.
A Single Judge Bench of Justice Rekha Palli was hearing a plea seeking suspension/withdrawal/cancellation of the Lookout circular (LOC) issued against Shivani Saxena, for allegedly siphoning kickbacks in the AgustaWestland VVIP Chopper deal.
Advocate R.K. Handoo, appearing on behalf of the petitioner, informed the court that she is back from Switzerland. On account of the pleadings being complete, he requested the court to schedule the matter for final disposal.
Advocate Zoheb Hussain, appearing on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), apprised the court that the petitioner informed the ED one day before travelling to Switzerland and hence, Consular supervision was not possible. He sought for permission to file an affidavit regarding the same.
Shivani was arrested on July 17, 2017 by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 for facilitating kickbacks in the AgustaWestland VVIP Chopper Scam Case.
AgustaWestland, the British subsidiary of Finmeccanica, had allegedly paid Rs 423 crore (58 million Euros) in kickbacks to acquire a contract for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP Choppers to the Indian Airforce.
The money allegedly paid by AgustaWestland, was siphoned off to Interstellar Technologies Ltd in Mauritius and others, who in turn siphoned it to UHY Saxena Ltd and Matrix Holding Ltd. Shivani is a director in UHY Saxena Ltd and Matrix Holding Ltd.
On January 1, 2014, the Indian Government scrapped the contract with AgustaWestland on breach of contractual obligation and alleged charges of paying kickbacks to acquire the said contract.
The Delhi High Court, on July 9, had suspended Shivani Saxena’s LOC for a period of four weeks and allowed her to travel to Switzerland and UAE, subject to the following conditions:
1. The petitioner shall file an undertaking that she will visit only Switzerland and Dubai, UAE during the aforesaid period.
2. The petitioner will intimate the details of her itinerary to the respondent, including the place where she would be staying and the time when she would be reaching Zurich, Switzerland in order to enable the respondent to make arrangements for an official from the Embassy to accompany her, if they so desire.
3. The petitioner will not tamper with any of the evidence and will not operate any bank account while she is in Zurich, Switzerland.
4. In case any of the above conditions are violated, the bank guarantee will be forfeited to the State.
5. The petitioner will return back to India within four weeks from the date she leaves the country.
6. All conditions imposed by the CBI Court by way of the June 28 order, including furnishing security in the sum of Rs 50 lakh, shall be complied with by the petitioner.