Finmeccanica Head Denies Consultancy Deal with Economy Min Wife

The Reuters
September 5, 2012

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/05/finmeccanica-idUSI6E8JM00720120905

(Reuters) - Finmeccanica head Giuseppe Orsi denied press reports on Wednesday that he had ordered faked consultancy services from the wife of Vittorio Grilli, who is currently Economy Minister.

"I have never in my life ordered consultancy services from the wife of Professor Grilli, neither as Chief Executive of Finmeccanica nor in the past as CEO of AgustaWestland," Orsi said in an emailed statement in response to media reports.

A report in the Il Corriere della Sera alleged that wiretaps by prosecutors indicated that the former head of Vatican bank IOR Ettore Gotti Tedeschi had said that Orsi had told him he had contracted for "false consultancy services" from Grilli's wife.

The newspaper said Gotti Tedeschi's comments were contained in the minutes of judicial inquiries.

No comment was immediately available from Grilli's spokesman.

At 0850 GMT shares in Finmeccanica were down 3 percent.