AgustaWestland Case | ED gets custody of middleman Christian Michel till January 26

In a major development in the AgustaWestland case, Enforcement Directorate has been granted the custody of middleman Christian Michel till January 26, 2019. Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case, has opened a can of worms after he named "Mrs. Gandhi" and "the son of the Italian lady" who is going to be "the next Prime Minister of the country".  

Earlier, Enforcement Directorate has told the Patiala House Court that Christian Michel, who was extradited earlier in December, has named 'Mrs. Gandhi' also spoke about “the son of the Italian lady” and how he is going to become the “next prime minister of the country”. Furthermore, during the hearing, ED also told the Patiala House Court that Christian Michel had identified how HAL(Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) was removed from the deal and the deal was offered to Tata instead. ED had also sought to ban Michel's lawyer's access to him alleging that the investigation in the case is being tampered. ED alleges that Michel was being tutored from the 'outside' through his lawyers.  

ED had sought 8 days further custody of Michel. It further seeks to confront Michel about his various visits to India and the people involved in the case.

"We need to decipher who the “big man” referred to as “R” is in the communication between Michel and other people.," said ED officials to the Patiala House Court.

Read: AgustaWestland Case | Christian Michel Naming Them Is A Smoking Gun: BJP's Dr Subramanian Swamy On Michel Naming 'Mrs Gandhi'

Michel is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The others are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa. Both CBI and ED had notified an Interpol red corner notice (RCN) against him after the court issued a non-bailable warrant against him.

The CBI has alleged there was an estimated loss of Euro 398.21 million (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer in the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010, for the supply of VVIP choppers worth Euro 556.262 million. The ED, in its charge sheet filed against Michel in June 2016, had alleged that he received EUR 30 million (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.

Read: AgustaWestland Case | Accused By ED Of Money Laundering, Patiala House Court Issues Production Warrant Against Christian Michel