VVIP Chopper scam: Delhi court seeks response from CBI, ED on Christian Michel's bail applications

A Delhi Court on Thursday sought response of CBI and Enforcement Directorate on the two bail applications of alleged middleman Christian Michel who was arrested in connection with the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam cases.

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar issued notice to the probe agencies and sought their response by May 6, when the court will hear the cases.

Michel, accused in a case of corruption filed by the CBI in relation to the scam and another case of money laundering filed by the ED, has moved the bail applications, saying that no purpose was being served by keeping him in custody.


"The applicant has undergone almost 600 hours of custodial interrogation by both the agencies. As of today, the applicant has spent more than 2 year and 4 months in addition to the period which he spent in Dubai jail,” he submitted in the applications.

Special public prosecutor N K Matta and advocate D P Singh received the notice for the ED and the CBI respectively.

Michel, extradited from Dubai, was arrested by the ED on December 2018.

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

On January 1, 2014, India scrapped the contract with Italy-based Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of paying kickbacks to the tune of Rs 423 crore by it for securing the deal.