{"id":57643,"date":"2018-01-09T14:29:36","date_gmt":"2018-01-09T14:29:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/01\/09\/court-acquits-ex-leonardo-execs-in-helicopter-bribery-case\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:17:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:17:12","slug":"court-acquits-ex-leonardo-execs-in-helicopter-bribery-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2018\/01\/09\/court-acquits-ex-leonardo-execs-in-helicopter-bribery-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Court acquits ex-Leonardo execs in helicopter bribery case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ROME \u2014 An Italian court acquitted two former Leonardo managers Monday in a bribery case related to the sale of AW101 helicopters to India in 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Giuseppe Orsi, the firm\u2019s former CEO, and Bruno Spagnolini, a former head of the company\u2019s helicopter unit, were cleared after judges decided there was insufficient proof against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith all the damage to the company, the damage to us is minor,\u201d Spagnolini said after the verdict was read out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ruling is the latest chapter in a lengthy case punctuated by conflicting verdicts that damaged the company\u2019s global standing while highlighting Italy\u2019s sluggish and labyrinthine legal system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The charges stemmed from the \u20ac560 million (U.S. $672 million) deal to sell 12 AW101 helicopters to India in 2010, when Orsi was head of AgustaWestland, then a unit of Italy\u2019s Finmeccanica, which is now known as Leonardo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orsi and Spagnolini were first arrested in 2013 on suspicion of paying bribes to the former Indian Air Force chief<\/a> to buy the AW101. Following the arrests, India canceled the contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A court acquitted Orsi and Spagnolini of international corruption, handing them instead two year sentences for the lesser charge of false bookkeeping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under Italian law, prosecutors can appeal against acquittals, and an appeal was held <\/a>in 2016. This time, Orsi and Spagnolini were found guilty on both counts<\/a>, with Orsi receiving four and a half years and Spagnolini four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But under Italy\u2019s three-tier legal system, the case then headed to the Supreme Court, which found fault with the verdict and sent the case back for another trial in December 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That trial wrapped up Monday with the acquittals. It is unclear whether the case will once again return to the Supreme Court, although Orsi\u2019s lawyer, Ennio Amodio, suggested the affair might have now reached the end of the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\t