AgustaWestland Scam: Christian Michel Named in ED Chargesheet

This is the second chargesheet filed in the case. The first chargesheet was filed by the ED in November 2014.

AgustaWestland reportedly paid bribes to top Congress leaders to bag a Rs 3,600 crore deal. (Photo: Reuters)

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a fresh chargesheet on Wednesday, naming alleged middleman Christian Michel James and his Indian associates in connection with the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland choppers scam.

This is the second chargesheet filed in the case by ED. The first chargesheet was filed by the agency in November, 2014.

Earlier, former IAF chief S P Tyagi and Delhi-based businessman Gautam Khaitan were under investigation in connection with the case.

Also Read: AgustaWestland: CBI Questions SP Tyagi Over “Foreign Remittance”

Michel Receieved kickbacks: ED

The prosecution complaint was placed before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court early this week.

The agency found that Michel received around Rs 225 crore from Messrs AgustaWestland as “kickbacks” to execute the 12 helicopter deal and to make it look like a genuine transaction.

Two other associates and a media firm have been named in the chargesheet.

This is the second charge sheet filed in the case by ED. The first charge sheet was filed by the agency in November, 2014.

Apart from Michel, Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa are the two other middleman are under investigation by the ED in the case. An Interpol Red Corner Notice (RCN) was issued against him after the court issued a non-bailable warrant.

Filing a chargesheet against Michel is necessary as it will allow the ED to begin extraditing him from the UK.

Also Read: CBI Questions AgustaWestland Middleman Michel’s Associate

Role of The Middlemen

The agency has also declared that the three middlemen “managed to” make inroads into the “Indian Air Force in order to influence and subvert the stand of the air force regarding reducing the service ceiling of the helicopters from 6,000-meters to 4,500 meters in 2005, after which AgustaWestland became eligible to supply the dozen helicopters for VVIP flying duties.”

The ED’s probe has also found that Michel paid the media firm he floated in Delhi through his Dubai-based firm Ms Global Services, FZE, from the funds he received from Ms AgustaWestland.

Previous Developments In The Case

In April, 2016 a Milan appeals court sentenced Italian defence and aerospace major Finmeccanica’s former chief Giuseppe Orsi and Spagnolini on the grounds of false accounting and corruption in the sale of these helicopters to India.

The court had also mentioned former IAF chief SP Tyagi at several points.

Following this development, the ED began a fresh round of investigations and registered a PMLA case in 2014, naming 21 people including Tyagi.

It had also arrested Delhi-based businessman Gautam Khaitan in the case, who is now out on bail.

It had submitted a report that said that Khaitan was on the board of Aeromatrix, a Chandigarh-based company allegedly involved in the financial dealings in the chopper deal.

On 1 January, 2014, India scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica’s British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of paying kickbacks to the tune of Rs 423 crore to secure the deal.

Also Read: How Accurate Are Manohar Parrikar’s AgustaWestland Claims?

(With agency inputs)