Acquittal in 2010 Helicopter Contract Scandal: Haschke Cleared

The Italian appeals court has completely absolved Guido Ralph Haschke, an Italian-American consultant, from all charges of international corruption related to a contentious 2010 helicopter contract involving Leonardo and the Indian government. The ruling, as per documents seen by Reuters, nullifies Haschke's previous plea bargain, paving the way for his complete acquittal.

Haschke, a dual U.S. and Italian national residing in Switzerland, originally faced accusations of serving as a middleman in the corruption scandal. Though he agreed to a plea deal in 2014, he maintained that this decision was purely technical to circumvent lengthy legal processes. The case, initially ignited in 2012, had repercussions across Italy and India, damaging Leonardo's reputation while India was emerging as a leading arms purchaser.

Italy's top court had already cleared other defendants from the defense group in 2019. Haschke's lawyer, Luca Lauri, pursued appeal proceedings based on these developments, resulting in the court ruling issued last Monday. The corruption allegations primarily focused on a 560 million euro ($660 million) contract, which included supplying twelve helicopters to India, a contract nullified after international arbitration concluded in 2019.

(With inputs from agencies.)