Bhardwaj egg on Govt face: Q accounts defreezing ordered

The High Court order came after the Crown Prosecution conveyed to the court that India’s Additional Solicitor General B Dutta had a meeting in December with lawyers acting on behalf of the prosecution.

The two accounts had been frozen in 2003 by the High Court order.

Word of the UK court decision comes a day before the Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal, Justices C K Thakker and R V Raveendran takes up for hearing advocate Ajay Agarwal’s PIL challenging the Government move to allow the Quattrocchi accounts to be defrozen.

A top CBI official told The Indian Express that they were trying to get in touch with the Crown Prosecution. As reported by The Sunday Express, the CBI has been scrambling for damage control, even preparing for a scenario in which Quattrocchi’s accounts are defrozen. It has drafted a fresh Letter Rogatory (LR) to be sent to Berne, Switzerland, because this is where the Rs 21 crore in the two London accounts came from.

The agency has begun extradition proceedings to get Quattrocchi from Italy, where he is now residing.

In May 2003, according to Interpol, $1 million and Euro 3 million were remitted from BSI Lugano, Switzerland, to BSI AG London. The accounts were frozen in July 2003.

“Our request for sending the LR is already with the Government and the document has been drafted,’’ a top CBI official told The Sunday Express.

“Once the approval comes, we will move the court for despatch of the LR to Switzerland. If the London accounts are defrozen and fresh evidence comes, we will again move for getting a restraint order on the funds.’’

As has been frequently done for accused persons residing abroad, the CBI proposes to move diplomatic channels and reiterate that a Red Corner Notice (RCN) is pending against Quattrocchi so that Interpol is alerted whenever Quattrocchi leaves Italian territory.