M A I N   N E W S

Quattrochhi held, bailed out
Extradition process to begin
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Dec 20 — The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today achieved a major breakthrough in the investigations into the 14-year old Bofors payoffs scandal with the arrest of key accused and Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrochhi by Malaysian authorities in Kuala Lumpur.

Although Quattrochhi was released later on bail the process for his extradition to India for him to face a trial in the case is due to begin. Quattrochhi was released on bail on “stringent conditions” and is likely to be brought to India under the Extradition Act of Malaysia.

“Quattrochhi was arrested today by the Malaysian authorities and was released on bail on stringent conditions,” CBI Director R.K. Raghavan told reporters.

Quattrochhi, who represented Italian firms Snam Progetti in India for several years and was close to the Gandhi family, had left India in 1993 before the CBI could secure an arrest warrant against him from court. He had been living in Kuala Lumpur ever since.

Mr Raghavan said the Malaysian authorities arrested him on being satisfied with the request made by the CBI for his arrest and extradition to India. A team of CBI officers was in Kuala Lumpur already before the arrest of Quattrochhi.

The External Affairs Ministry officials also impressed upon their Malaysian counterparts about the importance of the issue, he said.

Later the External Affairs Ministry’s official spokesman denied that there was any political vendetta behind the arrest of Quattrochhi. “There is absolutely no political angle to it,” he said while responding to a question on the charge that the Vajpayee government had resorted to political vendetta to settle scores with Congress president Sonia Gandhi following its embarrassing defeat in the Rajya Sabha in the censure motion on the Ayodhya issue yesterday.

He said: “The question of Quattrochhi’s extradition is purely, simply a matter related to certain illegal money transactions in connection with the acquisition of Bofors 155 mm Howitzers in the mid-80s”.

The evidence of payments received by Quattrochhi had been confirmed by Swiss banks and this had been submitted to the Malaysian authorities with a request that he be extradited, the spokesman said.

Addressing newspersons, Mr Raghavan said Quattrochhi was released on bail after he furnished a bail bond of 4,00,000 ringett (approx Rs 30 lakh) with two sureties, one being his wife Maria and the other a local. He also surrendered his passport to the court and gave an undertaking that he possessed no other passport and that he would not leave the country without prior permission, he said.

Asked how long would it take to bring Quattrochhi to India, Mr Raghavan said it would depend on the extradition process in Malaysia, where the authorities had been explained as to how the crime allegedly committed by the Italian businessman in India was also a crime in that country.

Mr Raghavan said Quattrochhi had “fled from India” in July 1993 immediately after coming to know that the CBI had been informed by Swiss Interpol about his involvement in the gun deal scandal, first made public by Swiss radio in 1987.

When reporters persisted for a definite answer about the time the extradition process could take, the CBI Director said: “Your guess is as good as mine. We cannot say how much time it will take to bring him to India.”

He said the CBI had prior information about the preparations of the Malaysian authorities to apprehend Quattrochhi and that was the reason why we had stationed “a team of our officials there”.

Asked to explain the time taken to effect the arrest though the CBI had chargesheeted him last year, Mr Raghavan said: “We were told by the authorities there the manner in which the extradition request had to be made.”

“When we sent the request accordingly, it was vetted by the Attorney-General of Malaysia and once he gave the clearance, we knew the arrest was imminent,” he said.

He said the CBI was assisted well by an eminent lawyer Cyrus Das in Kuala Lumpur and added without his cooperation things could have been difficult.

Narrating the sequence of events at the Malaysian capital, the CBI Director said Quattrochhi after his arrest was taken to a Magistrate who referred him to a Sessions Court.

The Sessions Court granted him bail imposing stringent conditions, he said adding the extradition process would now begin.

Asked how Quattrochhi could be extradited in the absence of such a treaty between India and Malaysia, Mr Raghavan said “We have explained to the authorities there about the dual criminality clause applicable to Quattrochhi.”

To a question whether the issue would be pursued during Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee’s visit to Malaysia slated to take place in February, the spokesman merely said dates for the visit were being finalised.