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ED fresh chargesheet against Michel
NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday chargesheeted British middleman Christian Michel for routing to India Rs 6.3 crore from the kickbacks in the
NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday chargesheeted British middleman Christian Michel for routing to India Rs 6.3 crore from the kickbacks in the AgustaWestland chopper deal.
According to ED’s supplementary chargesheet, Michel and two Indian directors of his shell firm helped him invest the bribe money in the country.
Slapping charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the ED found that Michel received 30 million euros in kickbacks from AW Limited.
Out of the kickbacks he received from a UK–based chopper marketing company to push the VVIP AW-101 choppers for IAF, Michel camouflaged Rs 6.33 crore as consultancy contracts through his Indian shell firm Media Exim Pvt Ltd.
The money to the Indian firm came from Dubai-based Global Services FZE, another firm owned by Michel. The chargesheet named Media Exim’s directors, RK Nanda and JB Subramanyam, as accused in the case.
An ED source said, Nanda and Subramaniyam had “willingly and knowingly connived with Christian Michel.”
The duo helped Michel in acquiring various immovable and moveable properties assets in Delhi from the bribe funds worth Rs 6.33 crore sent by the latter that ED has subsequently attached. According to ED, Michel helped in reducing the tender’s operational requirement on service ceiling –maximum flying capacity –from 6,000m to 45000m. ED’s main chargesheet against a few accused including Gautam Khaitan was submitted in 2014.
Michel, 54, allegedly played a key role in swinging the Rs 3,727crore deal for AgustaWestland to supply 12 VVIP choppers in 2010. The deal was scrapped by the previous UPA government in 2014.
AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of Italian defence giant Finmeccanica, allegedly paid more than Rs 375 crore as bribe to secure the deal. The British wheeler-dealer came under the scanner after an Italian court convicted two former officials of the defence giant for corruption.
