The Supreme Court has referred Christian Michel James' plea for release in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam case to another bench. The Delhi High Court previously dismissed his petition, but James continues to challenge his detention and the India-UAE extradition treaty.
The Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition by Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam, seeking his release from jail. The court found no merit in his challenge to the India-UAE extradition treaty and a trial court order.
The Delhi High Court has dismissed Christian Michel James's petition for release in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam case, upholding his continued detention.
A technical snag was detected in a helicopter scheduled to transport Maharashtra Minister Pankaja Munde for campaigning, delaying her journey. The issue was discovered during a routine inspection, leading to the grounding of the helicopter and a DGCA investigation.
The Supreme Court dismissed a plea from a lawyer facing money laundering charges in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal, challenging a PMLA provision. The court stated that the lawyer should face trial like any other citizen.
The Delhi high court granted bail to alleged middleman Christian Michel James in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland money laundering case on Tuesday. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, while granting the reprieve to James, said it was an "exceptional situation" where the accused was in custody for over 6.2 years but the trial had not yet commenced due to incomplete investigation. James, who was extradited from Dubai in December 2018, can now walk out of prison subject to compliance with the conditions.
The Supreme Court has granted bail to alleged middleman Christian Michel James in the purported Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland case. James had been in custody for six years while the investigation was ongoing. The alleged scam relates to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland. James, a British national, was extradited from Dubai in December 2018.
Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland case, has claimed that attempts were made to poison him inside Tihar Jail. A Delhi court has sought a response from the prison authorities on his plea. The court has also directed that James be taken to AIIMS on April 7 for a check-up. James was extradited from Dubai in 2018 and has been in custody since then. He has been granted bail in the ED and CBI cases against him but has refused to accept bail citing security concerns. He has also alleged that he was subjected to an incident at AIIMS, the details of which he is willing to share with the court in private. The court has ordered James to furnish a personal bond and surety of Rs 10 lakh in both cases and surrender his passport. The CBI chargesheet claims an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer due to the deal for the supply of VVIP choppers. The ED chargesheet filed against James alleged he received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.
A Delhi court has reprimanded Tihar Jail authorities for allegedly keeping Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland case, with an inmate who has received 41 punishments for misconduct, raising concerns about Michel's safety. The court also ordered the jail to provide Michel with a table fan, stating that even animals in zoological parks are provided air conditioning. Michel had previously requested to finish his sentence and leave India due to security risks.
Saini was accused of demanding bribes from Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman, to favour the company during field evaluation trials held in 2010, officials said.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied bail to Christian Michel James, an alleged middlemen in the AgustaWestland chopper scam cases, who is being probed by both the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate.
A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to former defence secretary Shashi Kant Sharma in a case related to the AgustaWestland chopper scam.
The CBI has been carrying out searches at various locations for the past few days to locate assets acquired from the proceeds of the scam, officials said.
A Delhi Court on Friday dismissed the bail pleas of alleged middleman Christian Michel in connection with alleged AgustaWestland scam related corruption case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, and the money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a supplementary charge sheet in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland scam against former defence secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and four Indian Air Force personnel, officials said Wednesday.
A special court on Saturday granted bail to four former Indian Air Force (IAF) officers in the AgustaWestland chopper deal corruption case after they appeared before it following summons issued on the last date of hearing.
Michel was extradited in an operation under the guidance of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the Central Bureau of Investigation said on Tuesday.
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Carlo Valentino Ferdinando Gerosa, 71, an Italian and Swiss national, was believed to be a key player in the bribery scandal as the process of manipulating the specifications for VVIP helicopter deal allegedly started after a meeting between him and cousins of former Indian Air Force chief S P Tyagi, they said.
The bench said what is worrying the court is the complexity of trial as there are over 250 witnesses in the case and the co-accused government officials have been granted bail for want of sanction for prosecution.
In his plea, Michel said the investigation regarding him was over and no useful purpose would be served by keeping him in further incarceration.
Two pilots and an engineer were killed after a helicopter crashed and caught fire in Maharashtra's Pune district on Wednesday morning, police said.
Michel, extradited from Dubai, was arrested by the ED on December 22 last year.
Christian Michel's investigation in New Delhi has revealed nothing substantial, contrary to the expectations of the prime minister and the media hype. A fascinating excerpt from Raju Santhanam's The Untold Story of Christian Michel and Agustawestland.
Surjewala statement comes after some media reports claimed that investigators questioning the suspected middleman in the 'chopper kickbacks' case were trying to extract a false confession from him that he personally knew Gandhi at the time the AgustaWestland chopper deal was finalised.
Embattled Anglo-Italian helicopter maker AgustaWestland may face a probe in the UK over its 480 million pounds scandal-hit deal with India for the supply of 12 VVIP choppers.
Rubbishing Congress' claim of having blacklisted AgustaWestland, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said he had as defence minister in June 2014 put the transaction to buy 12 helicopters from the Italian firm on hold and in July barred any future contract with it.
The ED, in its chargesheet filed against Michel in June 2016, had alleged that he received 30 million (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.
The probe agency sought nine days further remand of Michel for his custodial interrogation saying he was not cooperating in the investigation of the case.
The chargesheet said according to the 'budget sheet, 30 million were paid to Air Force officers.
The focus of the questioning is Tyagi's alleged links with Italian middlemen -- Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschkhe, CBI sources said.
In a new twist to the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter scandal, it has now come to light that the helicopter design and manufacturing company never returned the full down payment made by the Indian authorities for procuring the 12 choppers.
Rajiv Saxena, an accused in AgustaWestland chopper deal scam, was extradited from Dubai, UAE, to India .
The payments to AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 choppers have been stopped but so far no decision has been take to blacklist the firm, Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
Congress leader Veerappa Moily stated that the negotiation for Agusta began during former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's regime and all his advisors and defence ministers were involved.
Orsi was at the helm of AugustaWestland when the deal was struck and he is suspected of involvement in the payment of bribes.
Special judge Arvind Kumar issued notice to the agency and directed it to file a reply on Michel's plea, which had stated that he had not named anybody in connection with the deal during investigation by the ED and that even though the court has not taken cognisance of the documents, in order to make the entire case a sensation again in the media, the agency had leaked the chargesheet.
Facing the prospect of cancellation of its Rs 3,600 crore deal to supply 12 VVIP choppers to the IAF, AgustaWestland has sought a meeting with the defence ministry to explain its stand on the issue.
The Indian Air Force headquarters in a reply said, 'The information sought vide your RTI application is not available at this HQ.'
A bail plea was also moved on his behalf. The court did not give any specific date for hearing the bail plea.
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