India grants UK mission consular access to AgustaWestland accused Christian Michel
He is one of the three middlemen, being probed by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate in the case, besides Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa. Michel has denied the charges.
The British High Commission in India has got consular access to alleged middleman in AgustaWestland case Christian Michel, who was brought to Delhi from the United Arab Emirates on December 4.
“Our staff are supporting a British man who is detained in India, and have visited him to check his welfare,” the High Commission said in a statement, according to ANI.
The UK had requested for consular access to Michel,57, the allegedly middleman in the ₹3,600-crore VVIP chopper deal signed and scrapped by the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. The deal has now turned into the subject of a political fight between the opposition party and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He is one of the three middlemen, being probed by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate in the case, besides Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa. Michel has denied the charges. The CBI has alleged there was an estimated loss of Euro 398.21 million (approximately ₹2,666 crore) to the exchequer in the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010 for the supply of VVIP choppers worth Euro 556.262 million.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), in its charge sheet filed against Michel in June 2016, had alleged that he received EUR 30 million (about ₹225 crore) from AgustaWestland.
The money was nothing but “kickbacks” paid by the firm to execute the 12 helicopter deal in favour of the firm in the “guise of” genuine transactions for performing multiple work contracts in the country, according to the charge sheet.
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