British national, the alleged middleman in the Rs 36 billion AgustaWestland chopper deal, Christian Michel is being extradited to India from the UAE, according to the official's sources on Tuesday (4).
The official sources added that he was scheduled to be brought back to on Tuesday night from Dubai. Michel is wanted in India for legal proceedings in connection with the AgustaWestland VVIP choppers scam.
India’s federal law enforcement and economic intelligence agency the Enforcement Directorate (ED), in its charge sheet filed against Michel in June 2016, had alleged that he received Rs 2.25bn from AgustaWestland.
Michel is one among the three middlemen being investigated in the case, besides Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa, by the ED and another federal probe agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Both the CBI and the ED had notified an Interpol red corner notice against Michel earlier.
India on January 1, 2014, had scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the Indian Air Force (IAF) on an alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of paying kickbacks to the tune of Rs 4.23bn by it for securing the agreement.
The federal probe agency CBI has alleged that there was an estimated loss of Rs 26.66bn to the exchequer in the deal that was agreed on February 8, 2010, to supply VVIP choppers worth €556.262m.
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