Court orders UK man’s extradition in chopper case

Dubai, November 19 

A Dubai court on Monday ordered the extradition of British national and alleged middleman Christian Michel, who is wanted by Indian investigation agencies in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP choppers deal case, as per a media report.

Michel, 54, is currently behind bars in Dubai since he was arrested and sent into custody pending the legal and judicial procedure in the UAE. The Court of Cassation upheld on Monday a lower court order which ruled that Michel could be extradited, dismissing appeals filed by his defence lawyers, the Khaleej Times reported.

Judge Abdelaziz Al Zarouni, who headed a Bench, pronounced the decision in the presence of other judges, the paper said.

The ED, in its chargesheet filed against Michel in June 2016, had alleged that he received EUR 30 million (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland. The money was nothing but “kickbacks” paid by a firm to execute the 12 helicopter deal in favour of the firm in “guise of” genuine transactions for performing multiple work contracts in the country, as per the chargesheet. — PTI