Christian Michel James is a British national who was extradited from Dubai to India on December 4, 2018. Before being brought to India, he was in custody in Dubai for four months.
New Delhi: The Tihar Jail authorities informed a Delhi court on Tuesday that Christian Michel James, who is accused of being a middleman in the AgustaWestland helicopter deal case, is not eligible for any remission since he has not been convicted yet.
ALSO READ: AgustaWestland Case || Supreme Court Grants Bail To ‘Middleman’ Christian Michel James
The jail superintendent told Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal that James has maintained “satisfactory” conduct during his time in custody and that “no punishment was recorded during the custody of James.” The court has now asked for a detailed report in response to James’ plea, in which he has requested six months of remission.
Christian Michel James is a British national who was extradited from Dubai to India on December 4, 2018. Before being brought to India, he was in custody in Dubai for four months.
The case involves alleged corruption and irregularities in the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from the Italian company AgustaWestland. Investigative agencies have accused James of being one of the three key middlemen in the deal, along with Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has mentioned in its chargesheet that the scam caused a financial loss of “398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore)” to the Indian exchequer. The controversial deal was signed on February 8, 2010, for the purchase of VVIP helicopters at a cost of “556.262 million euros.”
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a chargesheet against Christian Michel James in June 2016.
According to ED, James allegedly received “30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore)” from AgustaWestland. The agency claims that this money was part of kickbacks paid in the helicopter deal.
