Italian defence and aerospace
giant Leonardo-Finmeccanica said Monday that its exposure to the
Indian market was limited after the announcement that it is
being blacklisted by the Asian State.
It said that "for years no new orders for India were
included in forecasts" and that "the targets announced in the
industrial plan are fully confirmed".
Leonardo-Finmeccanica also stressed that it has not
received official notification from the Indian authorities that
it was being blacklisted.
The Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported
Monday that India is to cancel all its orders with Finmeccanica
after its AgustaWestland subsidiary allegedly paid kickbacks to
secure a secured the 566-million-euro contract to provide 12
helicopters for the Indian Air Force
Procedures have begun to place Finmeccanica and its
subsidiaries on a blacklist, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar
told PTI in an interview.
Standing contracts with Finmeccanica and its subsidiaries
for maintenance and parts for equipment India has purchased in
the past will remain valid, the minister added.
"New purchases will be halted," Parrikar said.
In April this year, a Milan appeals court found former
Finmeccanica CEO and president Giuseppe Orsi guilty of
corruption and sentenced him to a prison term of four and a half
years.
Former AgustaWestland CEO Bruno Spagnolini was handed a
four-year prison term.
Orsi denied wrongdoing, and resigned from the helm of the
State-controlled firm in 2013 after being arrested in relation
to the probe.
Both companies and their former executives have denied
wrongdoing.
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