Patiala House Court rejects AgustaWestland 'middleman' Christian Michel's bail plea

Delhi's Patiala House Court on Saturday dismissed the bail plea of Christian Michel, an alleged middleman in the AugustaWestland VVIP chopper scam. Opposing the plea, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said since Michel is close to influential people, he could leave the country on bail, tamper with the evidence, influence the witnesses.

Special judge Arvind Kumar rejected Michel's plea in the cases filed by the CBI and the ED. Michel, extradited from Dubai, was arrested by the ED on December 22 last year. On January 5, Michel was sent to judicial custody in the ED case. He is also lodged in judicial custody in the CBI case related to the scam. Michel is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case by the ED and the CBI. The others are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.