AgustaWestland: Delhi court sends Christian Michel to judicial custody

New Delhi, Jan 5: A Delhi court on Saturday sent alleged middleman Christian Michel, arrested in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case, to judicial custody.

Michel was produced before Special Judge Arvind Kumar. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) sought his judicial custody in connection with its probe into a money-laundering case.

Michel, who was extradited from Dubai recently, was arrested by the ED on December 22 and sent to a seven-day custody of the agency over money-laundering charges in the scam by a court here.

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".

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 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.