मंगलवार, 22 फ़रवरी 2011

Ottavio Quattrocchi भारत से बड़ा इटालियन ओत्तावियो क्वात्रोच्चि

- अरविन्द सिसोदिया 
    भारत की प्रधानमंत्री श्रीमति इंदिरा गांधी की पुत्र वधु बन कर जब इटालियन मूल की सोनिया गांधी ने भारत के प्रधानमंत्री निवास में प्रवेश किया होगा तब ईसाई समुदाय का खुश होना तो  स्वाभाविक था मगर लगता है की खुशी सबसे ज्यादा क्वात्रोच्ची को ही होई होगी ..! इताली इटली का यह सामान्य व्यक्ती जो एक इटालियन कंपनी में कार्यरत था , अचानक ही इसलिए महत्वपूर्ण हो गया की उसकी ख़ास पहचान सोनिया गांधी से थी ,और .. इसी आधार पर उसने देश के कई बड़े बड़े ठेके अपनी कंपनी को दिलवाए ..!! जब बह चलता था तो देश की सरकार हिलती थी, मंत्रलत काँप था , मिनिस्टर उअथा कर सलाम बजाते थे ...! क्योंकि पहुच घर में अंदर चूल्हे तक जो थी ..!! सिर्फ और सिर्फ वह व्यक्ती सोनिया गांधी के कारण देश से ऊपर , देश के कानून से ऊपर और देश की प्रशासनिक व्यवस्था से ऊपर रहा ..! सोनिया गांधी के बरद हस्त  के कारण उस पर कोई आंच नहीं आई...! वह भारत की किसी भी अदालत में हाजिर नहीं हुआ..! उसे गिरिफ्तर करने के बजाये उसे ससम्मान देश से बाहर निकलवाया गया ..! उसके बैंक खाते जो सीज थे ; जिनमें से वह धन निकाल नही पा रहा था ; उन्हें रिलीज करवाया गया ..!! उसका रेड कार्नर गिरफ्तारी वारंट था ; वह समाप्त करवाया गया ..! उसे देश लाने के प्रयास करने के बजाये उसे मुक्त करवाने के सारे प्रयास चल रहे हैं ..! जिस सी बी आई पर उसके खिलाफ एक कमरा भर सबूत बताये  जा रहे थे उसने आरोप पात्र दाखिल किया था वही अब आरोप वापस लेने में लगी है ..!! सबूत नहीं होनें की बात कह रही है ..! यह लगता नहीं कि सी बी आई सोनिया जी की बाई की तरह है ..? सबसे शर्मनाक बात तो यह है कि आयकर अपीलीय न्यायाधिकरण ने उन्हें दोषी पाया है तब भी उसे मुक्त करवानें पर वह विभाग लगा हुआ है जो केंद्र सरकार के पास है ..!    
नई दिल्ली ----- यहां एक अदालत ने बोफोर्स घोटाला मामले में इतालवी व्यवसायी ओत्तावियो क्वात्रोच्चि के खिलाफ मामला खत्म करने की अर्जी पर फैसला ४  मार्च २०११ तक के लिए सुरक्षित रख लिया। चीफ मेट्रोपॉलिटन मैजिस्ट्रेट विनोद यादव की अदालत में सीबीआई की अर्जी पर सुनवाई चल रही है। वहीं दूसरी तरफ सुप्रीम कोर्ट के वकील अजय अग्रवाल सीबीआई की अर्जी का विरोध कर रहे हैं। 
       सीबीआई ने अक्टूबर, 2009 में अदालत से क्वात्रोच्चि के खिलाफ मामला खत्म करने की इजाजत मांगी थी। सीबीआई की दलील थी कि आरोपी को भारत लाने के लिए दो बार प्रयास किए गए, लेकिन दोनों ही बार उन्हें असफलता का सामना करना पड़ा। बोफोर्स तोप करार में कथित रूप से दलाली लेने को लेकर क्वात्रोच्चि के खिलाफ आरोपपत्र दाखिल किया गया था। सीबीआई ने 1986 के बोफोर्स तोप करार की दलाली मामले में 20 जनवरी 1990 को मामला दर्ज किया था।
Ottavio Quattrocchi is an Italian businessman who was being sought until early 2009 in India for criminal charges for acting as a conduit for bribes in the Bofors scandal.

Quattrocchi's role in this scandal, and his proximity to Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi through his Italian wife Sonia Gandhi (Antonia Maino), is thought to have contributed to the defeat of the Congress Party in the 1989 elections. Ten years later (1999), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) named Quattrocchi in a chargesheet as the conduit for the Bofors bribe. The case against him was strengthened in June 2003, when Interpol revealed two bank accounts, 5A5151516M and 5A5151516L, held by Quattrocchi and his wife Maria with the BSI AG bank, London, containing Euros 3 million and $1 million, a \"curiously large savings for a salaried executive\". In January 2006, these frozen bank accounts were unexpectedly released by India's law ministry, apparently without the consent of the CBI which had asked for them to be frozen.

On 6 February 2007, Ottavio Quattrocchi was detained in Argentina on the basis of the Interpol warrant. The Indian investigating agency CBI came under attack for putting up a half-hearted effort towards his extradition[4] and India lost the case for his extradition in June 2007, the judge remarking that \"India did not even present proper legal documents\". Embarrassingly, India was asked to pay Ottavio's legal expenses.

Ottavio's financier son, Massimo Quattrocchi, grew up with Sonia Gandhi's children Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, who are currently rising through the political hierarchy in India. Massimo currently advises the Luxembourg-based firm Clubinvest on business opportunities in India. He visits India frequently, and runs an office in Bangalore. He was present in India at the time of his father's Argentina arrest in February 2007, and there is speculation that he may have met Priyanka Vadra around that time.
www.outlookindia.com.........But The Q Factor Still Haunts
The CBI is at a loss to explain Sonia Gandhi's links with Quattrocchi—and, therefore, Bofors
IS the CBI on the verge of questioning Sonia on Bofors? And more importantly, did the disclosure that the Quattrocchis were major beneficiaries of the Bofors kickbacks lead to her decision  to join the Congress? According to well-placed sources in the agency, Ottavio Quattrocchi and wife Maria have a chargesheet coming their way in the Bofors scam.
As for quizzing Sonia, the CBI took up the issue when Arun Nehru,Rajiv Gandhi's school friend, harped on the Sonia-Quattrocchi connection while he was being interrogated. Some members of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) suggested that Sonia's name must be included on its list. Mere questioning, they argued, would not necessarily mean she is guilty. Having done that, the agency is at a loss to locate an officer who will question Sonia, even if such a decision would necessarily mean political clearance.
On May 8, CBI director Joginder Singh said the chargesheet, currently being scrutinised by the agency's legal department, will be filed "soon". Agency sources say the chargesheet will be finalised this weekend and sent to the personnel department for clearance.
After amateurish attempts to extradite Quattrocchi from Malaysia failed in February, the agency claims it is better armed now. Immediately after the chargesheet is filed, the CBI will formally apply for the Italian businessman's extradition. "This time, we have a solid case," insists a CBI official. In the last attempt, the grounds cited by CBI officials to get him back were considered 'inadequate' by Malaysian authorities. Agency officials say that if they fail to extradite Quattrocchi this time, they may even seek his deportation, which does not need a formal bilateral agreement.

The Congress desperately needs leaders but not Sonia.She will turn out to be another Maneka Gandhi. Sonia has a language problem and a basic lack of understanding of India. Sonia is like the last straw for a drowning Congress.
All of which is bad news, as far as Sonia is concerned, because it leads to a host of questions. What is her connection with Quattrocchi, which dates back to her Italy days? And how did Quattrocchi, a fertiliser expert representing the interests of Italian multinational Snamprogetti, come to acquire such sweeping powers in a foreign country? To make things worse, Quattrocchi has quite unabashedly admitted his close relations with the Gandhis.
The scrutiny of Bofors papers from Switzerland reveal that Rs 24 crore was paid to Quattrocchi by the shady AE Services in 1986 as part of the kickbacks for the Howitzer guns. The money was deposited in a Swiss bank named by Quattrocchi. This, says the CBI, transpired a few days before the Defence Ministry awarded the contract to Bofors. The chargesheet also has details of Quattrocchi's deals with notorious Hong Kong-based hawala dealer Amir Bhai. "There is evidence that the formidable Italian also laundered money through Amir Bhai," says a source.
Well-placed agency sources say the first Bofors chargesheet is likely to concentrate on public servants, including former defence secretary S.K. Bhatnagar, the only person privy to every single meeting on the Bofors deal. Other names, like key Rajiv Gandhi aides Gopi Aurora and Sarla Grewal, have also come up.
Of the politicians, the SIT has suggested the chargesheeting of Arun Nehru but only if it is cleared by the CBI's legal department. The same applies to Gen. K. Sundarji, who cleared the contract. Look at it any way, almost everyone involved is a former Rajiv aide—Sonia's predicament is understandable.
Bofors scam: ITAT names Quattrocchi as one of the beneficiaries of the kickbacks
NEW DELHI: The ghost of Bofors scandal seems to be mustering for yet another onslaught on the Manmohan Singh government with the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) naming Italian middleman Ottavio Quattrocchi as one of the beneficiaries of the kickbacks.
According to an ITAT order dated December 31, 2010, “payments were made illegally as the government of India’s policy did not allow middleman in defence deals”. Quattrocchi and Win Chadha are accused of receiving `41 crore in illegal kickbacks in the Bofors gun purchase scandal of the mid-1980s. “Bofors admittedly paid the amounts to AE Services, Ottavio Quattrocchi and other entities. It’s a liability for withholding tax is built in. Ottavio Quattrocchi was living in India for a considerable time. This issue about his tax residence status should have been verified,” the order said.
The ITAT order comes in the midst of the Opposition’s campaign against the government over allegations of corruption and a day before a city court takes up the CBI’s plea to drop criminal proceedings against the Italian middleman. During the arguments in the case two months ago, the government’s counsel had contended that the continued prosecution of Quattrocchi was “unjustified” in the light of various factors, including the failed attempts of the CBI to extradite him. “I find that the continuance of prosecution against Quattrocchi will be unjustified. It is considered expedient in the interest of justice that the proceedings against him should not be continued and be withdrawn,” the CBI had pleaded in its nine-page plea.
Today’s development is certain to cause major embarrassment for the prime minister and the UPA government. It may be recalled that the prime minister had made an emphatic defence of the CBI’s decision to close the case against the Italian middleman, who was close to the Gandhi family. “It is not a good reflection on the Indian legal system that we harass people while the world says we have no case,” the prime minister had said. “Quattrocchi case is an embarrassment for the government of India. We tried to extradite him from Malaysia...from Argentina ...and the courts said we don’t have a strong case. Before the matter was referred, Interpol asked India why do you want to keep him under a RCN — the law minister referred to AG (Attorney General) who gave advice that it should be lifted,” the prime minister had observed.
The claim that Malaysian and Argentine courts had rejected India’s appeal are not exactly correct. Dismissing India’s review petition of Quattrocchi’s extradition, Justice Augustine Paul of Kuala Lumpur High Court had noted that the descriptions of the offenses in the requisition papers were “insufficient, vague and ambiguous”.
It may be recalled that the Malayasian court’s ruling was cited by UPA-I government to de-freeze Quattrocchi’s bank accounts in December 2005. Although the Supreme Court directed the government to ensure that the money was not withdrawn, the delay in approaching the court helped Quattrocchi walk away with ` 21 crore from his London bank accounts.
The government did not do much to get Quattrocchi extradited when he was arrested in Argentina in February, 2007. It be recalled that the Argentine judge noted that the CBI did not even present proper legal documents for his extradition.

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