HC grants bail to alleged middleman Michel in AgustaWestland PMLA case
This story was originally published at 20:17 IST on 4 March 2025
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NEW DELHI – The Delhi High Court Tuesday granted bail to Christian James Michel, one of three alleged middlemen being probed by the Enforcement Directorate in the AgustaWestland chopper kickback case. The court allowed the agency to request the trial court to impose stringent conditions before releasing Michel on bail, considering his previous conduct and the fact that he was extradited to India.
"...in this Court's opinion, the prolonged incarceration of the accused, of about six years and two months, and the fact that investigation is not yet complete and trial has not yet begun, and there are more than 100 witnesses to be examined in this case, would entitle him to grant of regular bail, thereby overriding the statutory bar under Section 45 of PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002) and proviso to Section 436A of Cr.P.C. (Criminal Procedure Code)," the court said.
On Feb. 18, the Supreme Court had granted bail to Michel in a case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The top court had said bail was granted as Michel, who was extradited from the United Arab Emirates in 2018, has been in custody for more than six years and the investigation is still on. The apex court had also asked the investigating agency to request the trial court to impose conditions before releasing Michel on bail.
In the high court, Michel's counsel said that since the petitioner had already been granted bail by the Supreme Court in the predicate offence, he should also be granted bail in the money-laundering case arising out of the offence.
The AgustaWestland chopper kickback scam involved money being allegedly paid to middlemen and Indian officials in 2006 and 2007 to purchase helicopters for very important people. The probe agency alleged that there was an estimated loss of about INR 26.66 billion to the exchequer in the deal. Michel was accused of creating a paper trail to route kickbacks in the deal. End
Reported by Surya Tripathi
Edited by Rajeev Pai
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