AugustaWestland: Have voluntarily not submitted bail bonds, James tells court

Christian Michel James, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case, on Friday informed a Delhi court that he voluntarily did not furnish bail bonds as he did not have any valid documents to stay in India.

Special judge Sanjay Jindal questioned James in the light of the Supreme Court granting him bail on February 18.

"It is stated by the accused that he is voluntarily not furnishing the bonds as he does not have any valid document to stay in India after his release. The accused has apprised that he is in the process of arranging such documents for his stay in India after his release from jail," the court said.


James said his application for passport renewal was still under process and he was seeking regular updates from the authorities.

The judge noted James had filed another application requesting the CBI prosecutor "to facilitate the documentation for permitting him to enter Delhi from Tihar Jail legally".

"Though the application filed by the accused is cryptic and does not disclose the specific facts, but considering the nature of the request, it is submitted on behalf of CBI that the issue raised by the accused pertains to the (Union) Ministry of Home Affairs and the same does not pertain to the prosecution/CBI," the court said.

Following this, the judge disposed of the plea, noting James' submissions about taking "appropriate steps in this regard as per law with appropriate authorities."

On August 7, the court rejected Michel's plea seeking release in the case on the grounds that he had undergone the maximum period of sentence of seven years for the purported offences.

It said that the accused had not yet completed the sentence for the alleged crimes, given the maximum punishment of life imprisonment under IPC Section 467 (forgery of valuable security, will etc.)

James was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 and was subsequently arrested by the CBI and the ED.

In February, he was granted bail in the CBI case by the apex court.

Two weeks later, he was granted bail in the ED case by the Delhi High Court.

Michel, however, has not furnished bail bonds and remains in Tihar prison, awaiting the renewal of his passport.

The CBI, in its chargesheet, claimed 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 ED chargesheet led against James in June 2016 alleged that he received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.