New Delhi, July 11: CBI has asked the government to take steps to get a letter rogatory issued for Britain to freeze a bank account of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi in connection with the Rs 64 crore Bofors pay-offs case. The premier investigating agency has also alerted the Interpol to initiate the seizure procedure for the bank account in London where Quattrocchi is alleged to have deposited large portions of the bribe amount, CBI sources said here.
The Interpol had recently informed CBI of the London bank account, they said but did not disclose details of the amount in the account or in which bank it had been opened and when. The London Police has sought a letter rogatory to freeze the account and had been in touch with the CBI as well as the Indian High Commission on the matter, the sources said.
They said the account could contain the money which, the investigators believed, had been siphoned off from the Rs 1,437 crore gun deal. According to earlier investigations, over 50,000 million Swedish Kroners had allegedly been paid to Quattrocchi through a e services. The Italian businessman was a former agent of Italian multinational Snam Progetti and a key figure in the Bofors case. Bureau Report