NEW DELHI, Mar 6: Rajeev Saxena, who has sought to become an approver in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland money-laundering case, on Wednesday recorded his statement before a Delhi court.
Saxena gave his testimony before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal during in-chamber proceedings after which the court sent the copies of his statement to the special judge hearing the case.
The documents were sent before Special Judge Arvind Kumar in a sealed cover who provided a copy to the Enforcement Directorate and asked the agency’s special public prosecutors D P Singh and N K Matta to file a reply by March 8.
The court will then take a decision on whether to allow him to become an approver.
Saxena had earlier told the court that he had no intention not to cooperate and that it was logical at this stage to complete his testimony in a fair way.
The judge had asked him, “Are you aware that you may not be absolved of punishment by becoming an approver?”
To this Saxena replied in the affirmative.
“I have thought long and hard and I am confident that my exposure to the case is minimal…. I have no intention not to cooperate. At this stage it is logical to complete my testimony in a fair way,” he had told the court.
He further asserted that he decided to be an approver on his own free will and with a complete understanding of the case and he was neither given any assurances nor has he taken any.
The court had asked the ED to file its response to Saxena’s plea seeking to turn approver in the case, but agency counsel Samvedna Verma had argued that the agency will file its reply after the disclosure statement of the accused was recorded.
Saxena had moved an application to be an approver in the case, saying it was “out of free will” and “without any coercion” and prayed that he “will make a full disclosure subject to the grant of pardon”.
“The applicant humbly prays, without prejudice to his defence, that he may be granted pardon approver under Section 306 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 subject to the condition that he will make a full disclosure, to the extent, the facts are within his knowledge of which he will make a true and proper disclosure subject to the grant of pardon,” his application had said.
Saxena had said that he has cooperated with the investigation throughout and has made known entire facts regarding the case.
He was earlier granted bail by the court on medical grounds after perusing reports submitted by AIIMS.
The court had said that it was clear from the medical record submitted by AIIMS that Saxena, who was deported from Dubai on January 31, was suffering from a number of serious ailments including blood cancer and needs constant medical checkups.
Saxena, a director of two Dubai-based firms – UHY Saxena and Matrix Holdings – is one of the accused named in the charge sheet filed by ED in the AgustaWestland case.
Christian Michel, former AgustaWestland and Finmeccanica directors Giuseppe Orsi and Bruno Spagnolini, former Air Force chief SP Tyagi and Saxena’s wife Shivani have also been named by the agency in the chargesheet.
The ED had alleged that in connivance with Khaitan, Saxena provided a global corporate structure for laundering illegal proceeds of the crime for payment to various political persons, bureaucrats and Air Force officials to influence the contract to supply 12 VVIP helicopters in favour of AgustaWestland.
Saxena was residing in Palm Jumeriah, Dubai and has been living in the UAE for last 26 years.
On January 1, 2014, India had scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica’s British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of kickbacks of Rs 423 crore paid by it to secure the deal. (PTI)
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