The Delhi High Court (HC) on Tuesday granted bail to Christian James Michel, the alleged middleman in the money laundering case linked to the AgustaWestland VVIP Chopper scandal, news agency ANI reported. Recently, the Supreme Court granted him bail in a related CBI case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The bench of Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma on Tuesday allowed his bail plea. The court had kept the order reserved last week.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) opposed the bail plea of Christian James Michel on the grounds that he posed a flight risk owing to his British citizenship. The agency`s counsel also highlighted that the Supreme Court had specifically recognised him as a flight risk, ANI reported.
James` lawyer, Aljo K Joseph, previously apprised the Delhi HC about the Supreme Court`s bail ruling and stated that the Apex Court granted James bail owing to delays in the CBI`s corruption trial.
On February 18, the Apex Court granted bail to James, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland scam, stating that “the trial may not be completed in the next 25 years at this pace.” Michel was arrested and extradited on December 4, 2018, while the first information report (FIR) in the case was registered in 2013. The Rs 3,600-crore scam involves the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland.
On February 22, the trial court granted ED permission to separate the trials of the accused in the AgustaWestland case.
AugustaWestland scam: 21 accused have not joined probe
The agency sought to begin the trial against individuals who received summons and participated in the investigation separately from those who had not been served summons or had evaded investigation.
Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal noted that separating the trials would be in the interest of justice and ensure a fair and speedy trial, as per Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Consequently, files of the accused who have yet to be served will be separated from those who have already been served or are currently facing inquiry before the court.
The case, investigated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, involves a total of 60 accused, 21 of whom have neither joined the investigation nor been served summons by the ED to date, ANI reported.
The court observed that the first prosecution complaint was filed on November 24, 2014, while the latest, dated November 21 last year, which is the 12th supplementary prosecution complaint, highlighting a decade-long gap.
James was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 and subsequently arrested by the CBI and ED. He is one of the three alleged middlemen under investigation in the case, alongside Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa. According to the CBI`s chargesheet, the deal signed on February 8, 2010, for the supply of VVIP helicopters, worth 556.262 million euros caused an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (approximately Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer. The ED`s charge sheet filed against James in June 2016 alleged that he received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AugustaWestland.
The AgustaWestland scam, which occurred during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, refers to a multimillion-dollar corruption case where money was allegedly paid to middlemen and Indian officials in 2006 and 2007 to purchase helicopters for high-level politicians.
Following significant controversy and allegations of corruption, the Government of India ordered an investigation by the CBI on February 12, 2013.
Subsequently, the ED registered a case under PMLA in 2014.
(With ANI inputs)
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