ED opposes AgustaWestland 'middleman' Christian Michel's bail plea in Delhi HC

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday opposed a bail plea filed by alleged middleman Christian Michel James in a money laundering case arising from the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland 'scam' in the Delhi High Court. The alleged scam relates to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland.

The agency's counsel said although the Supreme Court granted bail to James in the predicate offence being probed by the CBI, the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) demanded satisfaction of the twin test to grant the relief.

The lawyer emphasised before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma that the British national was a flight risk, and had to be extradited as he did not join the probe.


The counsel appearing for the accused said his client's passport had already expired, and while the anti-money laundering law has a maximum punishment of seven years, James has already spent over six years in jail.

The court was also told that pursuant to the top court's order granting bail to James in the CBI case, the trial court was yet to frame the conditions for his release.

"Let them write it. List (it) on Friday," the court said as it asked the counsel for the Enforcement Department (ED) to make his submissions on the next date.

"The Supreme Court has already granted bail in the predicate offence. There would be limited submissions in this," it added.

During the hearing, the ED's lawyer also said that James' earlier bail pleas were rejected by the high court after considering all the submissions.

James was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 and was subsequently arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED.

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

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

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

The Supreme Court granted bail to James in the CBI case on February 18.