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Ottavio Quattrocchi (1938 – 13 July 2013) was an Italian businessman who was being sought until early 2009 in India for criminal charges for acting as a conduit for bribes in the Bofors scandal.〔"(Decade old Interpol Red Corner Warrant against Ottavio Quattrocchi removed by CBI ), ''The Economic Times''〕 Quattrocchi's role in this scandal, and his proximity to Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi through his Italian wife Sonia Gandhi (Antonia Maino), is thought to have contributed to the defeat of the Congress Party in the 1989 elections. In 1999, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) named Quattrocchi in a chargesheet as the conduit for the Bofors bribe. The case against him was strengthened in June 2003, when Interpol revealed two bank accounts, 5A5151516M and 5A5151516L, held by Quattrocchi and his wife Maria with the BSI AG bank, London, containing Euros 3 million and $1 million, a "curiously large savings for a salaried executive". In January 2006, these frozen bank accounts were unexpectedly released by India's law ministry, apparently without the consent of the CBI which had asked for them to be frozen.〔 〕 On 6 February 2007, Ottavio Quattrocchi was detained in Argentina on the basis of the Interpol warrant. The Indian investigating agency CBI came under attack for putting up a half-hearted effort towards his extradition〔 〕 and India lost the case for his extradition in June 2007, the judge remarking that "India did not even present proper legal documents". Consequently, India was asked to pay Ottavio's legal expenses. Ottavio's financier son, Massimo Quattrocchi, grew up with Sonia Gandhi's children Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, who are currently rising through the political hierarchy in India. Massimo was reported to be advising the Luxembourg-based firm Clubinvest on business opportunities in India. He was also reported as visiting India frequently, and running an office in Bangalore.〔 〕〔 〕 He was present in India at the time of his father's Argentina arrest in February 2007, and there is speculation that he may have met Priyanka Vadra around that time.〔 〕 ==Quattrocchi influence with Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi== Quattrocchi, born in Mascali, province of Catania, Sicily, in 1938, arrived in India in the mid 1960s as the representative of Italian oil and gas firm Eni and its engineering arm Snamprogetti. His family became close to the Gandhi family based on their connection with Rajiv Gandhi's Italian wife Sonia Gandhi, now the president of Indian National Congress party. The Special judge Prem Kumar observed in his order of 14 November 2002: Their children grew up together, and based on this friendship, Quattrocchi had become so influential at the office of the Prime Minister "that bureaucrats used to stand up when Quattrocchi visited them."〔 〕 Ashok Malik notes in ''The Pioneer'': That his influence extended to ministers was noted by VP Singh, who initially pursued the Bofors scandal, and whose testimony is summarised in a court judgement: He won about 60 projects for Snamprogetti, including: * 1981: the five Alibag (Thal Vaishet) plants from RCF, four Kribhco plants in Hazira, as well as the ONGC gas pipeline in Hazira. * 1983: National Fertilisers Limited's (NFL's) plant in Naya Nangal, Punjab and two plants in Guna. * 1984: IFFCO's three plants in Aonla. * 1987: Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited's two plants in Kakinada. In the process, it also became known that for contracts with India, Quattrocchi was the man to approach. When orders did not go through, as in the Hazira-Bijapur-Jagdishpur (HBJ) pipeline (1985), where Spie Capag of France had "bid a few hundred crores lower." Vengeance was swift. Nawal Kishore Sharma lost his job as petroleum minister and was reduced to Congress general secretary. PK Kaul found his term as cabinet secretary ending prematurely and was sent to Washington, DC, as ambassador. The petroleum secretary, AS Gill, never made it to contention for cabinet secretary. The chairman of the Gas Authority of India, HS Cheema, was removed.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ottavio Quattrocchi」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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