New Delhi, Dec 10 (IANS): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland chopper scam case, is a flight risk and his extradition was obtained with extreme difficulties as it opposed his bail plea.
Before a bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma, the ED’s counsel contended that if Michel is released on bail, he might flee to avoid the investigation.
Michel, an accused in the Rs 3,600-crore alleged scam relating to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland, contended that he should be released on bail on the ground of delay in commencement of trial proceedings.
Michel’s petition contended that he had already spent six years in jail when he could be awarded a maximum jail term of seven years under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The bail petition will be heard next in January 2025.
Michel, a British citizen, was extradited to India on December 5, 2018, from the UAE. On his arrival in India, he was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and days later, arrested by the financial probe agency, the ED. Since then, he has been lodged in judicial custody at Tihar Jail. Various courts have rejected the bail petition of Michel on a number of occasions.
On January 1, 2014, India cancelled the contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over an alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of paying kickbacks amounting to Rs 423 crore.
In 2020, the CBI had filed a supplementary charge sheet against 15 accused, including Michel and accused-turned-approver Rajiv Saxena, in connection with the alleged corruption in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.
The CBI had earlier filed a charge sheet in this case on September 1, 2017, against then-IAF chief S.P. Tyagi and 11 other accused.