AgustaWestland: Delhi HC reserves verdict on Christian Michel bail plea

The Delhi High Court on Friday reserved its verdict on the bail plea of alleged middleman Christian Michel James in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland money laundering case.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma reserved the verdict after hearing arguments from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the accused counsel. Probe agencies reported irregularities over the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from Italian manufacturing company AgustaWestland.

ED's counsel opposed Michel's plea saying the British national did not meet the "twin tests" for grant of bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and was a flight risk. Michel's lawyer sought the relief on the ground that he had already spent a substantial amount of time in custody.

He had submitted while the anti-money laundering law has a maximum punishment of seven years, he spent over six years in jail.

James was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 and was subsequently arrested by the CBI and the ED.

He is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case and the other two are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.

The CBI, in its chargesheet, claimed an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer due to the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010, for the supply of VVIP choppers worth 556.262 million euros.

The ED chargesheet field against James in June 2016 alleged he received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.  The Supreme Court granted bail to him in the CBI case on February 18.