AgustaWestland Case: Delhi Court sends Michel to five more days of CBI remand

Upon expiration of Michel's first five-day custody after being extradited, the CBI sought a nine-day remand for his custodial interrogation. The special court, however, extended it by five more days.

Image: ANI

New Delhi: CBI Special Court has sent the alleged middleman in AgustaWestland case to five days of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody. Michel, the alleged middleman in AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal was on Monday produced before Delhi court upon the expiration of his first five-day custody, where Michel filed fresh detailed bail application, withdrawing his previous application, which however got rejected. The CBI sought a nine-day remand of Michel for his custodial interrogation. It said that Michel needs to be confronted with more documents, including LR (letters rogatory) that have been received from five countries. Michel has not joined investigation with the Italian investigators as well for the last six years, CBI told the court. The court granted further 5-day CBI custody of Michel. The CBI also gave British High Commission access to Michel. It said "We have already been approached by British counsellors. We have allowed their plea of keeping their own counsel. " Christian Michel is the alleged middleman in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper deal. He was extradited from Dubai two days before after clearance from the UAE government and is in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) till December 10. Michel is one of the three middlemen being probed in the case, apart from Italian Guido Haschke (US and Italian nationality) and Carlo Gerosa (Swiss and Italian nationality). It was alleged that he had entered into a criminal conspiracy with co-accused persons, which included then IAF chief SP Tyagi and his family members and the public servants had abused their official positions by reduction of service ceiling of the VVIPs helicopter from 6000 metres to 4500 metres and a contract for an amount of Euro 556.262 million was awarded to AgustaWestland International Ltd (AWIL), UK by the Government of India through Ministry of Defence on 08.02.2010 for the procurement of 12 VVIP/non VVIP helicopters. On January 1, 2014, India scrapped the contract with Italy-based Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of paying kickbacks to securing the deal.