New Delhi, Dec 18 (IBNS): Alleged middleman in the Rs. 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper scam Christian Michel is not revealing any details that the CBI had hoped he would, NDTV said citing "top sources".
Michel has not revealed who took the RS 500 crore allegedly paid in India to help AgustaWestland land the contract for a dozen helicopters for VVIPs during UPA-1. He is apparently deflecting all questions by the CBI to Guido Haschke, the other middleman being probed, the report said.
The CBI had lodged the accused in an air-conditioned room at its headquarters.
According to the report, when the CBI questioned him about the payments to various companies made from his accounts, he said he was asked to do so by other firms.
On Saturday, a court extended the custody of Christian Michel by four more days.
He was presented to the court after his custody ended.
Michel's lawyers are now moving for his bail application and the court will hear his bail plea on Dec 19.
He was extradited to India from Dubai two weeks ago.
Michel’s extradition comes six years after his alleged involvement in the purchase of VVIP helicopters first surfaced in 2012.
It was alleged that he had entered into a criminal conspiracy with co-accused persons, which included the then IAF chief SP Tyagi and his family members, and government officials had abused their official positions by reducing the service ceiling of the VVIPs helicopter from 6,000 metres to 4,500 metres, at the time when the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government was in power.
On Nov 19, a Dubai court upheld a lower court's order that allowed AgustaWestland deal’s alleged middleman Christian James Michel's extradition to India. The Court of Cassation upheld a lower court order which said that Michel could be extradited, dismissing appeals filed by his defence lawyers, media reports said.
That day, Emirati lawyer Abdul Moneim Bin Suwaidan of Bin Suwaidan Firm for Advocates and Legal Counsels, representing Michel, submitted documents showing that courts in Switzerland and Italy had ruled on not to extradite his client, reported Khaleej Times.
Last year, Michel was arrested in the UAE.
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