Michel, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland scam, was extradited to India in December 2018. Since then, he has been in jail. He is accused of signing twelve contracts with AgustaWestland to make the illegal commission or kickbacks appear legitimate.
NEW DELHI: Today, 4th March, British national Christian Michel has been granted bail by the Delhi High Court in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) money laundering case related to the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam.
This order was passed on Tuesday by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.
Michel, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland scam, was extradited to India in December 2018. Since then, he has been in jail. He is accused of signing twelve contracts with AgustaWestland to make the illegal commission or kickbacks appear legitimate. These illicit payments, amounting to 42.27 million Euros, were linked to the procurement of VVIP helicopters by the Indian government.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) claims that bribes of around USD 33 million were routed through bank accounts in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
Michel was already granted bail in the CBI case connected to the scam by the Supreme Court on February 18. With the Delhi High Court now granting him bail in the ED case, he will soon be released from jail. A detailed copy of the order is awaited.
During the hearing, the Enforcement Directorate opposed the bail plea, arguing that Michel is a flight risk and might escape if released.
“He is a British citizen so he could run away. He is a flight risk,” said ED special counsel Zoheb Hossain.
Michel’s lawyer, Advocate Aljo Joseph, countered this argument by stating that Michel cannot flee because his passport has expired.
“My passport has already expired. I don’t have a passport,” said Michel.
Advocate Joseph further pointed out that since Michel has already spent the maximum possible sentence in jail as an undertrial, he should be released.
“Once Michel completes the maximum sentence in the offences as an undertrial, he should be released and then it becomes immaterial whether he remains in India or leaves,”
Joseph argued.
Besides Advocate Aljo Joseph, Michel was also represented by Advocates Sriram Parakkat and MS Vishnu Shankar in the case.
