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.
Even as the Central Bureau of Investigation has decided to send a team to Italy to gather details on the VVIP chopper scam, evidence regarding links with the Emaar-MGF is slowly coming to light, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
The ED named former Air Force Chief S P Tyagi, his two cousins, lawyer Gautam Khaitan, two Italian middlemen and Finmeccanica in its chargesheet.
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.
India has been made a party in the VVIP chopper scam trial in Italy which is expected to begin in the third week of June. The Indian side is in the process of hiring a law firm there to present its case in the Italian trial procedures, government sources said.
Government sources told ANI on Sunday that the ban has been lifted in dealings with the company with conditions. As per the decision, the investigation against the company by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate would continue.
Doubting the United Progressive Alliance government's intentions in conducting an impartial probe into the VVIP chopper deal, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday demanded that a special investigation team be set up to investigate the matter under a monitoring mechanism.
The Delhi High Court has dismissed Christian Michel James's petition for release in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam case, upholding his continued detention.
Along with Tyagi, his cousin Sanjiv alias Julie Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan were also arrested.
Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma is scheduled to visit London on Saturday for the ADD on Monday there where the issue of payment of kickbacks to the tune of Rs 362 crore in the deal is expected to come up, defence ministry sources said in New Delhi.
Others named in the chargesheet include alleged European middlemen in the deal, Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschke.
The Bharatiya Janata Party plans to target Sonia Gandhi and other Congress leaders on the issue of bribes in the AgustaWestland chopper deal during the United Progressive Alliance regime
The stage is set for another stormy week in the Parliament. The Opposition and the government has been at loggerheads over the VVIP chopper scam since the time a Milan court gave its verdict.
Under attack from the opposition over the controversial VVIP chopper deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said that he was ready to discuss the issue in Parliament during the Budget session beginning Thursday.
Officials said Michel's driver, Narayan Bahadur, was questioned at length by ED sleuths in the last few days.
The defence ministry has handed over some documents received from an Italian court to the Central Bureau of Investigation to verify if there was any breach of contractual obligations by Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland in the Rs 3,600 crore deal for 12 helicopters, official sources said on Tuesday.
Two Indian associates of alleged middleman Christian Michel James were on Saturday granted bail by a special court in a money laundering case relating to the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal.
Officials said the agency has sought property details on ten serving and retired officials of the ministry of defence and the IAF.
Nitin Gokhale, national security expert and founder BharatShakti.in, tells us what the controversy is all about.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kirit Somaiaya has written a detailed petition to the Central Bureau of Investigation, seeking an investigation into the alleged link between Emmar MGF and AugustaWestland, the British firm embroiled in the VVIP chopper scam.
A high-level team headed by defence ministry's director general (acquisition) today left for Italy to go through the crucial documents and evidence provided to India by the government there in the Rs 362 crore VVIP chopper scam.
The government has received the first set of official documents from Italy in connection with the VVIP chopper scam including the warrants issued against former Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi by authorities there.
Faced with the prospect of the nixing of its Rs 3,600 crore deal for the supply of 12 VVIP choppers, AgustaWestland today denied it had violated any contractual obligations in the pact for the same with IAF.
One of the alleged middlemen in the VVIP chopper scam had asked a contact in India to target UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the then NSA MK Narayanan to bag the deal, according to a document submitted in Italian court.
Though Antony did not name the IAF chief in his reply, former Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi's role in the deal is being inquired by the CBI. Tyagi's bank account was recently frozen by the investigative agency and he was also questioned by them.
Government is awaiting a report from its embassy and team in Italy to get a final picture on whether Defence Minister A K Antony has been listed as a witness in the VVIP chopper scam trial by a court there.
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.
An Italian court, hearing the VVIP chopper deal scam case, has rejected India's request for documents related to the investigations into the matter, arguing that the "information is covered by secrecy".
Claiming to be innocent, he said he might have some information which could enable the Indian authorities to progress with their probe into the scandal.
Alleged middleman Guido Haschke had 'cleaned up' all the documents from his computer that related to the VVIP chopper deal in which kickbacks were allegedly involved with Italian investigators saying the details could open a 'Pandora's box'.
Ex-IAF chief S P Tyagi will undergo further custodial questioning for three more days as the Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday told a court that AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam was a "very serious" case requiring his interrogation to unearth the larger conspiracy as the "interest of the nation was compromised".
Armed with documents from Italy, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday named former air force chief S P Tyagi in its preliminary enquiry into allegations of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal, the second former defence services chief to figure in a scam probe.
The AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal will once again dominate the proceedings in Parliament on Thursday.
The ED also told the special court that Christian Michel had spoken about 'the son of the Italian lady' and how he is going to become the 'next prime minister of the country'.
An Italian court has barred India from encashing bank guarantees worth over Rs 2,360 crore of AgustaWestland as part of the penalties imposed on it after scrapping of the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal.
With references to politicians and bureaucrats coming up in the chopper scam trial in Italy, the Defence Ministry is expected to seek clarifications on the issue from alleged middleman Guido Haschke during the next hearing of the case there.
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.
Former Finmeccanica Chief Executive Officer Giuseppe Orsi has denied knowing the family of Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi in the ongoing investigations in Italy into the alleged payment of kickbacks of Rs 362 crore for supplying 12 VVIP choppers to India.
Under fire over allegations of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal, government on Wednesday asserted that nobody found guilty will be spared and if wrongdoings were found by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the contract can be scrapped.
After India scrapped a contract for procuring VVIP choppers from AgustaWestland, American firm Textron on Friday said it is ready to offer its unique V-22 Osprey helicopter to India for ferrying its dignitaries.
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