By IANS,
New Delhi : A court here Friday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to return some “classified” documents relating to Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, a key accused in the Bofors corruption scandal, to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The court directed the CBI to take back the documents from its records as requested by the PMO. The CBI had said the PMO wanted back the documents that were seized during the investigation into the Rs.640 million Bofors payoff scam.
“It is stated that during the investigation, certain files from the PMO were seized. The accused Quattrocchi has not appeared in the matter pending before the court. There is a request from the PMO to return eight files, so I am directing CBI to return the files,” Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjeev Jain said in his order.
The CBI counsel submitted that the PMO had requested the investigating agaency to return the some “classified” documents seized during the probe.
“The documents relied upon during the investigation had already been filed on record and those documents were not required,” the counsel said.
Quattrocchi is accused of having received illegal kickbacks of Rs.7 billion in the Bofors gun purchase scandal in the mid-1980s. The Italian businessman was detained on Feb 6, 2007 at the Iguazu International Airport in Argentina on the basis of a Red Corner notice issued by Interpol,
He was set free June 8, 2007 after an El Dorado court rejected India’s plea for his extradition. He has not yet appeared in any of the hearings in Indian courts.