AgustaWestland: ED arrests James Christian Michel

New Delhi, Dec 22: The Enforcement Directorate has arrested alleged AgustaWestland middleman, James Christian Michel. The ED would question in connection with the financial transactions that went into the VVIP chopper deal.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar first allowed the Enforcement Directorate to interrogate the British national inside the courtroom for 15 minutes after the agency sought his custodial interrogation.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had on Friday moved a petition in Delhi's Patiala House Court seeking production warrant of Christian Michel, alleged middleman in Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam.

The production warrant is an order issued by a criminal court of law to produce a person before the court in connection with criminal proceedings pending against him.

According to the ED charge sheet filed in a court two years back, Michel had received kickbacks to the tune of 30 million Euros from AgustaWestland for the deal involving the purchase of 12 VIP helicopters. The deal, signed in 2007, was scrapped in 2013 following the bribery allegations.

At present, Michel is in judicial custody and is lodged in Tihar jail. He too has filed a new petition asking the judicature to allocate him a special cell in the prison. In its plea, Michel has stated that the other inmates of the cell are bothering him with too many questions.

It is submitted that the accused Christian James Michel apprehends that the inmates along with him in the cell are trying to interact with him in a detailed manner and asking him questions pertaining to the pending investigation," reads his petition.

"It is submitted that such interactions with the common people/residents in the cell may go against the interest of the investigation as well as the rights available to the accused in the jail. They tried to mention that the safety of the persons who are interacting with the accused may at some point of time be in jeopardy," the petition of Michel further reads.