In taped conversations,middleman talks about his unnamed Indian boss

In a preliminary investigation report that runs into 568 pages,Italian investigators have detailed hundreds of hours of taped conversations in which Haschke and his business associates are heard to be speaking about commissions in the helicopter deal and ways that money would be laundered in India.

In some conversations,Haschke and his partner Carlo Gerosa comes tantalisingly close to revealing the name of a person in India from whom they take orders. While the name has been recorded by the investigators,the transcripts of the conversation that are contained in the report list it as “incomprehensible”,possibly due to unfamiliarity with Indian names.

Consider this conversation that was recorded in Haschke’s car (number TI304420) on March 3.

Gerosa: They just need to say: I take orders (incomprehensible). I take orders from (incomprehensible) there in India,but we can’t tell this openly to Gautam (Khaitan,their Indian lawyer).

Haschke: He knows it very well.

G: He is our borderline. The orders of money laundering came from us,but he was doing the real job.We are a real criminal association/conspiracy.

G: (incomprehensible)

H: Yes,I was thinking about it earlier. Because if Gautam fears that Aeromatrix (Haschke’s Indian firm) might be involved,he already told me… you heard no? Praveen (Bakshi,the chief officer of Aeromatrix) is already very nervous

G: And Praveen is the only one who has nothing to worry about.

While the Italian probe is still on,the taped conversations point to a “criminal conspiracy” to fix the Indian deal.

From the taps it emerges that AgustaWestland paid Haschke and Gerosa 20 million euros as a commission for mediating in the 12 helicopters deal with India (rest paid to Michel). It shows how the payments are made in favor of Tunisian companies managed by the two Swiss men,Haschke and Gerosa,and then from Tunisia again routed to India and Mauritius in favor of companies (Aeromatrix) managed de facto by Haschke,Gerosa and Indian partners,the Italian investigation report says.

The report says that out of the Euro 51 million commissions,a majority part was allegedly diverted to British consultant Christian Michel,who is also under investigation. In this March 5 conversation between Haschke and Bruno Spagnolini ,CEO of AgustaWestland,Michel is discussed.

Haschke: Sir,I with Chris (The report explains that they are referring to Christian Michel ‘the other mediator who got 30 million’) it has been a long time since we heard from each other. I mean,voluntarily. I wonder if I should call him about this matter

Spagnolini: No no no no no.

H: And that things go.

S: I also have his contact.

H: Exactly.

S: Let’s see,I don’t know,I don’t think that.

H: Yes,if there’s a need,you let me know. I hope that (incomplete)..

Haschke has been recorded as being very surprised that the commission amount became known to investigators. Consider this conversation that was also recorded on March 5 between Hascke,Bruno Spagnolini ,CEO of AgustaWestland and a third executive called Digennaro in which they discuss the Euro 51 million commission revelations.

Digennaro: I mean,what surprises…

Hashke: It’s the amount.

Digennaro: It’s the amount and the precision.

Haschke: That is what worries me.

Spagnolini: No actually,about the amount,frankly speaking,I didn’t know. Because I came later,no? That is something that happened before,when that other man was called. I have never known all the amounts. Until we met over that lunch,remember?Hachke: Yes and that was the amount. This is what worries me.

Spagnolini: That was the amount.

Haschke: That was the amount.

The taped conversations also have a reference to a contract with an ‘Indian counterpart’ for the VVIP deal by Haschke who says that he has figured out his ‘official position’ on the matter after sitting down with AgustaWestland lawyers.

This conversation was in February this year:

Haschke: In any case,we have already decided,together with AgustaWestland lawyer,which is our position,which is: Yes,initially I went there (to India) to make proposals about this VVIP deal,but I was told that in India you can have no aid/assistance,therefore the original 5 per cent contract was not effective because it was not signed by the…

(Someone asks if the contract has been found by Italian investigators)

Haschke: No,they haven’t found it. They haven’t seized any offices,but even if they find it,that contract is not valid because it was not signed by the Indian counterpart and anyway it expired much before the present contract.

Haschke: What was my role? Because I said ok,you don’t need my services fine,so I thought why can’t I outsource a portion of the work to Indian companies,and so I first worked for IBS (IDS) andAeromatrix and I was paid by them and not by AgustaWestland. This is the official version .

There are several more references in the report to Haschke’s role with AgustaWestland,his conversations with top executives of the company as well as Indian connections. The tapes show that Haschke stopped travelling to India since February after his name appeared in the case.