Christian Michel named 'Mrs Gandhi' & 'son of Italian lady': Enforcement Directorate

Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case, has allegedly named "Mrs Gandhi" and "the son of the Italian lady" while in custody, the Enforcement Directorate informed Delhi's Patiala House court on Saturday.

The ED claimed that Michel was caught red-handed while passing a chit to his lawyer seeking help on how to deal with questions related to "Mrs Gandhi."

The agency said that in one of the contract negotiation documents it was mentioned 'son of an Italian lady' and "he is going to be the next PM". Sources from ED inferred that it could be UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi.

Special Public Prosecutor DP Singh sought further remand of Michel from the court. "Michel took name of Mrs Gandhi. We want to ask follow-up questions. His lawyers came and suddenly he handed a chit to them. He was caught red-handed by the doctors giving chit... He was actually seeking some help on what he has to say." Singh said.

Michel, an accused in the VVIP chopper case, was extradited from UAE early this month. The court granted seven-day custody to the ED for interrogation.

The agency is probing bribery allegations in the Rs 3,600-crore 12 AW101 helicopters deal with AgustaWestland that was cancelled in 2013.

There were corruption charges against top Indian Air Force officials and politicians. Michel and two other middlemen – Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa – are accused of playing a role in getting the Rs 3,600 crore-deal swung in favour of AgustaWestland.

The agency alleged that during medical examination Michel secretly handed a folded paper to his counsel Aljo Joseph. The incident was noticed by deputy director Ramajit Kaur. "Perusal of the folded paper revealed that it pertained to a set of questions regarding questions on Mrs Gandhi. It is clear that there is conspiracy to shield or tamper evidence," the agency said.

The agency also stated: "We need to decipher who the "big man" referred to as "R" is in the communication between Michel and other people.

Meanwhile, RPN Singh from Congress rubbished the ED claims saying that there is pressure on Michel to name a particular family. "Why is the chowkidaar trying to pressurise the government agencies to name a family? BJP script writers are working overtime," Singh said.

Michel allegedly also told ED how HAL was removed from the deal and TATA was brought into the picture. Special public prosecutor Singh claimed Michel was misusing the liberty of legal assistance during his interrogation by passing chits to his lawyers. The ED requested the court to ban the access of Michel's lawyer.

However, Joseph submitted that he was not disputing that a chit was not given. "It was bound to happen. It is a very cramped room. However, we did not see anything," he said.

The court then said that lawyers could meet Michel for 15 minutes in the morning and evening instead of the usual hour-long meet. The court stated that both lawyer and Michel will have to maintain a distance of three-feet while meeting.

Murky Deals

• Christian Michel is alleged to be a middleman in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper deal
• He was brought to India on Dec 5 following his extradition by the UAE
• ED got Michel's 7-day custody to probe money laundering charges
• ED claims he explained how HAL was removed from the chopper deal which was offered to TATA
• ED alleges Michel spoke about "the son of the Italian lady" and how he is going to become the "next PM of India'