Finmeccanica, 27 Companies Barred From Exhibiting At DEFEXPO 2014

India has barred Finmeccanica and its five subsidiaries from participating at the upcoming defense exhibition DEFEXPO 2014 in New Delhi next week.

The fallout from the VVIP helicopter deal will keep out subsidiaries AgustaWestland, Selex, Alenia Armacchi, Oto Malera and WASS, all of which are vying for contracts worth an estimated USD6 billion, from participating in the show. 

Besides Finmeccanica, the Government of India has barred 27 domestic and overseas from attending the show.

According to various reports, Finmeccanica has already paid the participation fees for the show and this would be returned to it shortly through online banking procedures.

In February last year, India froze payments for the helicopters and launched the official probe after Italian police arrested Giuseppe Orsi, Finmeccanica's then chairman and chief executive, for allegedly paying bribes to middlemen to secure the deal.

India has already taken delivery of three AW101 choppers and is seeking repayments worth some $367 million. The fate of these helicopters remain unclear however, AgustaWestland has says that it remains “committed to working with the Government of India to resolve the issues, and is ready to perform the remaining obligations under the agreement.”

The firm will continue to support the three helicopters already delivered to and currently operated by the Indian Air Force, the statement added.