Quattrocchi diverted $ 19-mn to hawala accused Jain

NEW DELHI, Aug 10: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged that Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, one of the main accu...

NEW DELHI, Aug 10: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged that Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, one of the main accused in the Bofors gun deal pay-offs case, had diverted about $ 19 million to the key accused in multi-crore hawala case, SK Jain, for passing it on to several other beneficiaries.

This amount was alleged to be “a share of the kickback received by Quattrocchi in connection with a contract,” the CBI has claimed in the Delhi high court during the hearing on the anticipatory bail plea of hawala operator Ameer Bhai. CBI sources while confirming that Quattrocchi’s name also figured in the hawala case, refused to give details about the `contract’ in which the Italian businessman was alleged to have received a share.

The investigating agency had shown several records and documents to the court of Justice Jaspal Singh while arguing against Ameer Bhai’s bail plea.According to CBI, the Jain brothers were `known’ to both Quattrochi and Ameer Bhai.

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CBI investigations have revealed that SK Jain was to be paid $ 18 to 19 million as share of the `kickback’ received by Quattrocchi in connection with the contract.

This amount was transferred by Quattrocchi in the bank account of Ameer Bhai for being delivered to SK Jain, the CBI alleged.

The Jain brothers were alleged to have distributed the amount to different persons, the CBI further alleged.

The CBI charges were recorded in the order of Justice Singh, dismissing the bail plea of Ameer Bhai, now in Dubai against whom arrest warrants are pending in three cases including the Rs 64-crore hawala case.

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Quattrocchi, currently in Malaysia, was named as one of the five owners of Swiss bank accounts in which the Bofors kickback money were allegedly transferred.