The Finmeccanica stock continues to slide on the Stock Exchange. In mid-morning the shares of the defense giant drop more than three points (after the -7% yesterday), clearly behind the Ftse Mib. To weigh is still the arrest of the president and managing director Giuseppe Orsi, accused of having paid - when he was CEO of Agusta Westland, a Finmeccanica subsidiary - a 51 million euro bribe to senior officials and generals of the Indian government, with the aim of obtaining a 550-600 million euro order for the delivery of 12 helicopters.
Today the Board of Finmecanica, summoned urgently, should revoke Orsi's powers, who have been in prison since yesterday, e nominate Alessandro Pansa managing director of the company. Guido Venturoni should instead be the new president. Both managers already sit on the board of Finmeccanica.
“The company confirms the orderly continuation of management activity – reads a note – also for the purpose of avoiding impacts deriving from today's judicial initiatives, among other things on the disposal processes in progress. The company is also evaluating the economic, equity and financial risks and effects related to the judicial initiatives".
Risks that seem quite big, at least judging by the threats from India. The Government of New Delhi he said he was ready to close all business relations with Finmeccanica and put the company on the blacklist "if the allegations of corruption are confirmed". The Indian defense minister, AK Antony, clarified that the intention is to "cancel the purchase contract for the 12 helicopters" and to punish "the people involved: no one will be spared".
The minister then recalled that since last year, when talks of this scandal began, "we wrote through the Foreign Ministry to Italy and Great Britain", but "we have not received any information from those governments".
