A Milan appeals court on
Thursday found former Finmeccanica CEO and president Giuseppe
Orsi guilty of corruption in relation to the sale of 12
helicopters to the Indian government and sentenced him to a jail
term of four and a half years.
Bruno Spagnolini, the former CEO of Finmeccanica's
helicopter subsidiary AgustaWestland, was handed a four-year
prison term. Prosecutors had requested jail terms of six years
and five years respectively. The pair were accused of
international corruption and false invoicing in relation to
bribes exchanged for a 560-million-euro contract with New Delhi.
Both Orsi and Spagnolini were cleared on charges of
committing international corruption at the first-instance trial
but convicted of false invoicing and sentenced to two years in
prison. The pair are likely to appeal to the supreme Court of
Cassation. In Italy criminal sentences are not usually
considered definitive until the appeals process has been
exhausted.
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