Oct. 9 (Reuters): An Italian court today sentenced former Finmeccanica chairman and CEO Giuseppe Orsi to two years in jail for falsifying invoices in a corruption case linked to an Indian deal but cleared him of more serious corruption charges.

The trial near Milan revolved around a Rs 3,600-crore contract awarded to Finmeccanica’s AgustaWestland business in 2010 to supply 12 luxury helicopters to the Indian government.

Public prosecutor Eugenio Fusco had accused Orsi and former AgustaWestland head Bruno Spagnolini of paying crores of rupees to Indian officials through intermediaries and falsifying invoices to obtain the high-profile contract.

Spagnolini was also sentenced today to two years in jail on the false invoice charges but acquitted of the corruption accusations.

The scandal has embarrassed New Delhi and tarnished Finmeccanica’s reputation at a time when the Italian aerospace and defence group is carrying out a tough restructuring.

India in August had banned the state-controlled Italian company from future contracts after terminating the helicopter agreement in January 2013 with only three aircraft delivered.

The two Italian executives, who have denied any wrongdoing, will not serve any jail term until the appeal process is exhausted.

The prosecutor had asked for a six-year jail term for Orsi, who turns 69 in November and ran AgustaWestland before taking the top job at Finmeccanica in 2011. The prosecutor had requested a five-year sentence for Spagnolini.

Khaitan bail

The Enforcement Directorate today opposed in a Delhi court the bail plea of businessman Gautam Khaitan, who was arrested by the agency during its probe into the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.

The ED alleged that Khaitan was involved in the transfer of “tainted money”.