Alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland chopper deal Christian James Michel is being extradited to India in an operation under the guidance of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the CBI said Tuesday.
Alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland chopper deal Christian James Michel has been extradited to India in an operation under the guidance of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the CBI said Tuesday.
Sources told PTI that he landed in India at 22:35 hours on a Gulfstream jet.
The operation was coordinated by interim CBI Director M Nageswar Rao and a team of the agency's officers led by Joint Director Sai Manohar was in Dubai to bring him back.
The Dubai government had cleared the extradition of Michel after his appeal against the move was turned down by a court there.
Michel, 57, was behind bars in Dubai since he was arrested and sent to custody pending the legal and judicial procedure in the UAE.
The Dubai Court of Cassation dismissed the two objections filed by Michel's lawyers and upheld the appellate court's decision to consider the possibility of extraditing him to the competent Indian authorities.
"Christian Michel entered into criminal conspiracy with co-accused persons and in pursuance thereof, the public servants had abused their official positions by reduction of service ceiling of the VVIPs helicopter from 6000 metres to
4500 metres and a contract for an amount of Euro 556.262 million was awarded to AgustaWestland International Ltd (AWIL), UK by the government of India through Ministry of Defence on 08.02.2010 for the procurement of 12
VVIP/non VVIP helicopters," CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said here.
"Michel, who has been avoiding criminal proceedings in India in AgustaWestland case is being extradited by the UAE authorities to India. Under the guidance of Ajit Doval, National Security Advisor (NSA), the entire operation is being coordinated by in-charge Director CBI M Nageswara Rao," he said.
In September, some media reports had said a Dubai court had ordered Michel's extradition to India, However, the MEA said they hadn’t received any intimation from the UAE govt about the case.
Michel had earlier claimed that he would be allowed to 'walk free' if he implicated Sonia Gandhi and Ahmed Patel.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), in its charge sheet filed against Michel in June 2016, had alleged he received EUR 30 million (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.
Michel is one of the three middlemen being probed in the case, besides Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa, by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Both the agencies had notified an Interpol Red Corner Notice against him after the court issued a non-bailable warrant.
On January 1, 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 by it for securing the deal.
The CBI has alleged there was an estimated loss of Euro 398.21 million (approximately Rs 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.
With inputs from PTI
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