AgustaWestland: Christian Michel sent to 5-day CBI custody

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court on Monday sent Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland chopper deal, to five days CBI custody.

While Michel had filed a fresh bail plea in the court today, the CBI had sought a nine-day remand for the British national, who was extradited to India from the UAE on December 4 after the Dubai Cassation Court approved his extradition on November 19.

The CBI also claimed that Michel was not cooperating with the ongoing investigation into the Rs 3,600 crore chopper deal. "We need to confront him with LR (letters rogatory) that have been received from five countries and Christian Michel didn't co-operate with Italian investigation in the case," the CBI said.

Michel was earlier sent to five-day CBI custody on December 5.

The Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal, finalised during the previous government of Manmohan Singh, had got mired in allegations of kickbacks. 54-year-old Michel is an accused in the case along with former Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi, among others.

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