The former CEO of Finmeccanica Giuseppe Orsi and the former CEO of Agusta Westland Giuseppe Spagnolini were sentenced to 2 years (suspended sentence) by the court of Busto Arsizio. The two were convicted of the charge of false invoices and acquitted of that of international corruption. The Busto Arsizio judges essentially rejected the prosecutor Eugenio Fusco's accusation, according to which Orsi and Spagnolini paid a maxi-bribe to favor Augusta Westland in the tender announced by the New Delhi government for the purchase of 12 helicopters.
Their verdict came after about 4 hours of deliberation. For this affair, Orsi had been arrested in February 2013 and had returned to freedom after spending 80 days in the Busto Arsizio prison. On 3 July, prosecutor Eugenio Fusco had asked for a 6-year prison sentence for Orsi and 5 years for Spagnolini. Instead, the defense had asked for the acquittal of the two defendants.
The panel of judges, chaired by Luisa Bovitutti, today recognized a provisional amount of one and a half million as compensation in favor of the revenue agency, the civil party. It also ordered a one-year ban from public office for both, and the publication of the sentence for 15 days on the website of the Ministry of Justice. The judges, sentencing Orsi and Spagnoli to two years in prison for false invoices, granted them the extenuating circumstances and re-determined the period of the alleged offenses, from 2009 to 2010. The sentence will be filed within 90 days.
