An Italian Court’s judgement on Tuesday in Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP Chopper deals seems to have opened a Pandora’s box for Congress and its first family - the Gandhis. The court said it was validly proven that a part of $10-15 million in illicit funds made their way to Indian officials; and the names of top Congress leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Ahmad Patel and Oscar Fernandes have surfaced in 225-page judgement. The judgement also named former IAF Chief, SP Tyagi in whose tenure, the deal was finalised. BJP has smelled this opportunity and is likely to corner Congress in the parliament because like Bofors, this deal also sees the involvement of Congress’ Achilles heel-The Gandhis. This is for the second time that the name of any of the members of Gandhi family has surfaced in a scam. In early 1990s, former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi was accused of an alleged involvement in Bofors scam.

Here’s everything you need to know about the deal:

August 1999 – The IAF which carries out VVIP transport duties, proposes replacement of Mi-8 helicopters due to operational constraints.

March 2002 - 3 years later, A global request for proposals issued.

January 2010 - 7 years after the proposal, the Cabinet Committee on Security clears proposal to acquire 12 helicopters after a long process which saw some intentional changes in some parameters, evaluations and negotiations.

Feb 8, 2010 - Ministry of defence (MoD) concludes contract for supply of 12 AW-101 VVIP helicopters.

February 2012 – After media reported allegations of unethical dealing, MOD demanded factual report from Indian embassy in Rome.

Feb 12, 2013 - Italian Police arrest Giuseppe Orsi, CEO of Finmeccanica, parent company of AgustaWestland, as part of bribery investigations into the chopper deal.

Feb 15, 2013 - MOD initiates action for cancellation of contract and puts on hold payments to company. Issues a formal show cause notice to AgustaWestland seeking cancellation of contract and taking other actions as per the terms of the contract and the integrity pact. Investigation handed over to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Feb 25, 2013 - CBI registers a preliminary enquiry (PE) against 11 people, including former IAF chief S.P. Tyagi, and four companies.

March 13, 2013 - CBI registers a first information report (FIR) against Tyagi and 12 others for alleged criminal conspiracy and cheating in the chopper deal.

November 2013 - AgustaWestland officials meet MoD officials to present their case. The company nominates Justice B.N. Srikrishna for arbitration. It submits its reply to final show-cause notice before Nov 26 deadline.

Jan 1, 2014 - The Indian government terminates the agreement on grounds of breach of the Pre-contract Integrity Pact (PCIP) and agreement by AgustaWestland.

April 26, 2016 - Milan Court Of Appeals releases 225-page long judgement in which top Congress leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Ahmad Patel and Oscar Fernandes are named.