On Friday, the Delhi High Court reserved its judgment regarding the bail plea filed by British arms consultant Christian James Michel in a money laundering case linked to the AgustaWestland helicopter scam.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating Michel’s role in the scandal.
After hearing arguments from both Michel’s counsel and the ED, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma announced that the decision would be ‘Reserved’.
Michel’s lawyer argued that his passport had expired and that he had already been in custody for over six years, noting that the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) stipulates a maximum sentence of seven years.
The ED’s lawyer countered that Michel could not count his time spent in Dubai as part of his custodial time under PMLA.
The ED stated that Michel did not meet the bail conditions under Section 45 of PMLA, highlighting, “The Supreme Court has held that he is a flight risk.”
Despite the Supreme Court granting Michel bail in the related CBI investigation, the ED maintained that the money laundering charges required satisfying a twin test for bail, which Michel had failed to meet.
A bench denied Michel bail in 2022, following his arrest in December 2018 after his extradition from Dubai.
Officials allege that he acted as a middleman in the VVIP helicopter scam, causing a loss of approximately 398.21 million Euros (about 2666 Crore INR) to the Indian government.
The ED had filed a chargesheet in 2016, accusing Michel of receiving 30 million Euros (around Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland as part of the illegal transactions.
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