A Delhi court on Monday granted the Central Bureau of Investigation five more days of remand of Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, PTI reported.
Michel was extradited to India from the United Arab Emirates on December 3. The next day, the court granted the CBI five-day custody of the alleged middleman. On Monday, the agency requested a further remand of nine days for Michel’s custodial interrogation, claiming that he was not cooperating in the inquiry. However, the court granted only five days.
When the court proceedings began, Michel withdrew his earlier bail plea and filed a fresh application.
On December 6, the Ministry of External Affairs said it was examining a request by the United Kingdom High Commission for consular access to Michel.
The former Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government signed the AgustaWestland helicopter deal in 2010 with the British-Italian firm. The deal was put on hold after Italy arrested the head of Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland’s parent company, on charges of paying bribes to win the contract. Michel is one of three suspected middlemen who Indian investigative agencies believe brokered the deal.
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