AgustaWestland: SC seeks CBI reply on bail plea of British national James

The Supreme Court on Friday sought the CBI's response on a plea filed by alleged middleman Christian Michel James seeking bail in the purported Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland scam case.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P B Varale issued notice to the CBI and directed it to file its reply within four weeks.

"Issue notice, returnable four weeks," the bench said.

The alleged scam pertains to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from chopper design and manufacturing company AgustaWestland.

James moved the apex court challenging the Delhi High Court's September 25 order refusing him bail in the case.

James, a British national, was extradited from Dubai in December, 2018, and was subsequently arrested.

The high court previously dismissed his bail application, observing there was no significant change in circumstances from the time when his earlier bail pleas were rejected.

He is among the three alleged middlemen probed in the case with the other two being Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.

The CBI chargesheet alleges an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer due to the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010, for the supply of VVIP choppers worth 556.262 million euros.

The Enforcement Directorate, in its chargesheet filed against James in June, 2016, in a related money laundering case, alleged he had received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.

On February 7, 2023, the top court denied bail to James while rejecting his submission that he had completed half of the maximum sentence in the cases.

Previously, the high court dismissed his bail applications in both the CBI and ED cases in March, 2022.