New Delhi, Jun 24 (IANS): Tightening its noose around Emaar MGF Director Shravan Gupta, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday carried out searches at seven location in Delhi and Gurugram in connection with its probe into the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland case.

A senior ED official confirmed that the financial probe agency was conducting searches at seven location in Delhi and Haryana's Gurugram at locations linked to Gupta.

Gupta was summoned and questioned by the ED in 2016 after his named cropped up during investigation.

According to ED officials, it was found that alleged middleman Guido Haschke was an independent director of Gupta's firm between September and December 2009.

In its charge sheet in 2015, the ED claimed that it detected flow of alleged kickbacks sent from foreign countries to companies of the accused named in the case -- Advocate Gautam Khaitan and cousin brothers of the former IAF chief S.P. Tyagi.

The ED further alleged that a part of the kickbacks allegedly paid to influential people and politicians was parked in a company related to Gupta.

The ED claimed that the money was meant to swing the contract in favour of AgustaWestland.

The kickbacks were then allegedly routed through Rajiv Gupta-owned Mauritius-based company Interstellar Technologies. Rajiv Gupta later turned approver in the case.

The ED has arrested British national and one of the alleged middlemen Christian Michel James in December 2018.

The case pertains to buying of 12 AgustaWestland helicopters built by Italian defence manufacturing giant Finmeccanica (now known as the group) at an estimated cost of Rs 3,600 crore for ferrying VVIPs. In the deal, bribes were allegedly paid to middlemen and others. The purchase was cleared in 2010 by the then UPA government.