CBI files supplementary chargesheet in Agusta Westland case naming British National Christian Michel

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a supplementary chargesheet in the AgustaWestland case and named 15 individuals including middleman Christian Michel, a British citizen, who is currently in the Tihar jail.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a supplementary chargesheet in the AgustaWestland case and named 15 individuals including middleman Christian Michel, a British citizen, who is currently in the Tihar jail.

The supplementary chargesheet focuses on the role of Christian Michel as the middleman in the deal and details how he influenced bureaucrats to ensure the contract was given to AgustaWestland.

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The Agusta Westland case involves a ₹ 3,600 crore contract for the purchase of 12 luxury helicopters to be used by top Indian leaders like the President, the Prime Minister and other VIPs. The contract was signed by the UPA government in 2007 and was later scarpped amidst allegations that AgustaWestland paid kickbacks to Indian officials amounting to ₹ 362 crore.

A Special Investigation Team of the CBI took over this case in 2016 and filed its first chargesheet against SP Tyagi, a former Air Chief Marshal charged with taking bribes to alter chopper specs, and 11 others in September 2017. CBI has also collected numerous documents and evidences through Letters Rogatory from the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Italy and Tunisia.

Others involved in the case include middlemen Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa, Former CAG Shashi Kant Sharma and Dubai based businessman Rajiv Saxena, who was extradited to India in 2019.