AgustaWestland case: Christian Michel sent to judicial custody

A Delhi court on Saturday sent Christian Michel, an alleged middleman, arrested in the AgustaWestland chopper case, to judicial custody.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) sought Michel’s judicial custody in connection with its probe into a money-laundering case.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar sent Michel to judicial custody till February 26 in the ED case and in the CBI case, it sent him to judicial custody till February 27.

ED on December 29 had informed Delhi’s Patiala House court that Christian Michel has named Mrs Gandhi while in custody.

ED also told the court that Christian Michel spoke about, “the son of the Italian lady” and how he is going to become the “next prime minister of the country.”

ED also said that we need to decipher who the “big man” referred to as “R” is in the communication between Christian Michel and other people. We need to confront Michel with other people to decipher who “the big man” or “R” is.

Michel was arrested in the UAE and extradited to India on December 4. He was arrested for money laundering charges in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam.

Michel is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

CBI has alleged there was an estimated loss of Euro 398.21 million to the exchequer in the deal that was signed in February 2010 for the supply of VVIP choppers worth Euro 556.262 million. 

The ED, in its charge sheet filed against Michel in June 2016, had alleged that he received EUR 30 million from AgustaWestland.