Delhi HC Grants Bail to Christian Michel in AgustaWestland Money Laundering Case

Delhi HC Grants Bail to Christian Michel: The Delhi High Court granted bail to British arms middleman Christian James Michel on Tuesday in an FIR related to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation of the Augusta Westland chopper scam. In February, the Supreme Court had granted him bail in the same issue registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma granted bail to Michel in the money laundering case.

The hearing was characterized by Christian Michel's counsel claiming that the Britisher's passport had already expired, and after having spent over six years incarcerated, one could argue that the longest under the Money Laundering Act would be seven years.

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Earlier in 2022, a Delhi HC coordinate bench had denied bail to him in the CBI and ED matters of the Agusta Westland chopper scandal. He was arrested in December 2018 after being extradited from Dubai.

Intermediary Christian Michel was charged in the AgustaWestland chopper scam for suspected illegal dealings.

On February 18, 2022, the Supreme Court granted bail to Christian Michel, a British citizen, accused in the AgustaWestland chopper scam in the case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

In March 2024, Christian Michel filed a petition in the Supreme Court for his immediate release from imprisonment citing rights to life and freedom. He had stated in 2024 that he had been in custody for five years three months, whereas the maximum sentence in this case, if found guilty, is five years.

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Since the investigation is still pending and trial has yet to commence, he submits his continued judicial detention is "illegal".

Thus, in what could possibly lead to the end of the AgustaWestland helicopter scandal, which erupted in 2013 in relation to the alleged bribery paid to middlemen and Indian officials for securing contracts for 12 VVIP helicopters of worth ₹3600 crore, it has made news. Several allegations were made that specifications were modified to accommodate AgustaWestland such as changing tables of operating ceilings. For funnelling €51 million to Indian politicians and officials through the most circuitous of accounts, Christian Michel remained a central figure in the case.

The scandal implicated senior Congress leaders including Ahmed Patel, and defence officials. Italian prosecutors contended that kickbacks were paid, naming Sonia Gandhi as a key player.

In 2014, India cancelled the deal on grounds of breach of integrity and froze the payments after three helicopters were delivered. The CBI started its investigations and questioned former IAF chief SP Tyagi and others.

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