AgustaWestland Case: Christian Michel funded airfare of IAF officers - CBI to court

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) claimed before the court on Saturday that Christian Michel, one of the three alleged middlemen in AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, had funded foreign travel of serving and retired Indian Air Force officers.

The agency did not name the IAF officers but sought Michel's custody for another five days. The court granted four days. The British national who was extradited from UAE earlier this month was produced in Patiala House Court after his five-day CBI remand ended on Saturday.

"Michel had borne the air travel expenses of two serving and retired air force officials and their family members amounting to Rs 92 lakh during 2009-2013 period," the agency stated before the court.

Appearing on behalf of the CBI, special prosecutor DP Singh told the court that Michel, who claimed he is dyslexic and therefore couldn't write ably, had now begun to write. Singh requested for a remand extension stating that "he writes painfully slowly" and the agency needs more handwritten specimens from him to compare them with some documents that sleuths suspect bear some text in his hand.

The agency is trying to ascertain the identity of the author of the abbreviations used in a "budget sheet" and some papers recovered from the alleged middlemen in the case. These include "AP" and "fam".

Michel's counsel Aljo Joseph, meanwhile, has moved an application seeking to void the Interpol notice against him.

His overseas lawyer, Rosemary Patrizi, who had moved applications to meet him in prison as well as the CBI headquarters, was denied the pleas but was allowed to meet him for 10 minutes.

When the CBI questioned her credentials, Rosemary presented her passport and Milan court ID before the bench. The CBI said it might have to make Rosemary, who has represented Michel in Italy and Switzerland, a witness in the case.

The next hearing has been scheduled for December 19.