TOI

New Delhi, Feb 24: Ottavio Quattrocchi, the fugitive Italian businessman wanted in the Bofors payoff case, has been detained by Argentine authorities to the embarrassment of CBI, which had maintained that his whereabouts were not known. This has presented the agency with what may turn out to be the final chance to bring him back to stand trial.

Argentine police detained Quattrocchi at Iguazu International Airport in the province of Misiones on February 6, on the basis of the red corner notice issued by Interpol in response to India’s request in 1997.

Having been told of the "chance catch", CBI has requested the foreign ministry to send a formal extradition request by March 8 when the month-long deadline expires; India does not have an extradition treaty with Argentina.

Significantly, the government chose to keep the matter under wraps for a fortnight.

While the final call on whether Quattrocchi will be sent back to India to face charges in the politically sensitive case will be that of Argentine authorities, it is CBI which is going to be under the scanner. Quattrocchi had frustrated India’s attempts to secure his extradition earlier also, in 2002, when Malaysia’s apex court turned down CBI’s request on the grounds of ‘‘insufficient and vague evidence’’. At the time, NDA was in power and no political motive could be attributed to its ‘‘failure’’ to get the man.

This time, however, the agency, already reeling under the growing perception of being sensitive to politically-fraught cases, will be required to present a foolproof case against the man once known for his proximity to the Gandhi family.
The CBI drew a lot of flak in January last year for failing to keep Quattrocchi from accessing his account in a London bank which was supposed to hold the kickbacks in the Bofors case.

The agency told the Crown Prosecution Service that it did not have enough evidence linking the money in the account to the Bofors case, clearing the path for Quattrocchi to withdraw the whole amount within days. Interestingly, law minister H R Bhardwaj had, on that occasion, defended the CBI’s move.

The action of Argentine police has trained the spotlight back on the Bofors case just when it appeared all set to be consigned to the ‘‘unsolved’’ logbook of the agency.