Updated December 15th, 2020 at 18:04 IST
AgustaWestland Scam: Delhi Court refuses to cancel NBWs issued against Shravan Gupta
The Court noted that it was 'clear' from the conduct of Shravan Gupta that he was not cooperative in the case and therefore his NBWs could not be cancelled.
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In a major development in the AgustaWestland VVIP Chopper scam, the Special Court in New Delhi on Tuesday refused to cancel the non-bailable warrants (NBWs) issued against former managing director of realty major Emaar MGF Shravan Gupta.
The Delhi Court added that it was 'clear' from the conduct of Shravan that he was not cooperative in the case considering that he had not complied with nine summons that had been issued to him by the Encofremnet Directorate (ED). The Court thereby noted that the NBWs issued against Shravan would not be canceled.
Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar in his order observed, "He also did not appear before this court when the application was taken up for hearing. It only shows that the applicant is not willing to cooperate in the investigation."
While the Delhi Court had pronounced the verdict on December 5, the detailed order was released today. This also comes as a major indicator that Shravan Gupta might be arrested soon. Gupta had approached the court saying that his 'ill health' had not allowed him to comply with the summons since he was susceptible to COVID-19.
Gupta's role in the case came to light when officials found out that the businessman had ties with European middleman Guido Haschke, one of the key-accused in the case. Notably, Haschke was also a director on the board of Emaar MGF in 2009.
Read: Union Law Minister Slams Cong Over AgustaWestland Scam; Says 'no Work Without Kickbacks'
Read: AgustaWestland Scam: Kamal Nath's Sons Named, Money Trail Now Under ED Scanner
What is the AgustaWestland scam?
The Congress-led UPA government in 2010 signed the contract worth Rs 3,600 crores to procure 12 AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters. It was alleged that bribes were paid to middlemen and even politicians in the procurement.
The scam was first unearthed in Italy when the CEO of AgustaWestland Bruno Spagnolini was arrested by Italian authorities for bribing middlemen to secure the deal with the Indian Air Force (IAF). In 2013, an investigation began into allegations of bribery and corruption involving several senior officials and the helicopter manufacturer.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in September this year, filed a charge sheet naming the 15 accused including Christian James Michel in the VVIP Chopper scam. Michel is said to be one of the critical middlemen facilitating the deal. CBI had earlier alleged that firms of Michel received about 42.27 million euros for the purpose and the bribes were routed through his companies. He was extradited to India from UAE in 2018.
The involvement of senior Congress leader Kamal Nath's sons - Bakul Nath and Nakul Nath, nephew Ratul Puri and fellow Congress leader Salman Khurshid is also being looked into in the case based on accused Rajeev Saxena's statements.
Read: AgustaWestland Case: 15 Accused Including Christian Michel Named In CBI Chargesheet
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Published December 15th, 2020 at 18:04 IST