British national Christian Michel James, alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland money laundering case. File.
| Photo Credit: PTI
New Delhi
A Delhi court on Wednesday pulled up Tihar jail authorities for lodging an accused, with multiple disciplinary complaints, in the same prison as Christian Michel James, one of the alleged middlemen in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam.
Special judge Sanjeev Aggarwal of the Rouse Avenue Court has sought a detailed status report from the jail authorities by April 29. The court also directed the superintendent of Tihar Jail to appear in person for the upcoming hearings.
The court was responding to an application filed by James, in which he requested to provide adequate security measures in the barrack. He also alleged that his tea was being poisoned and that he faced life threats.
In a preliminary report, the jail authorities informed the court that James is in the same barrack with an undertrial prisoner, Shanawaz, who has 41 complaints against him for conduct in jail.
Meanwhile, the court has also directed the jail superintendent to provide James with a table fan, noting that the request had not been fulfilled despite permitting in its earlier order.
Michel, a British national, was extradited from Dubai on December 4, 2018, after spending four months in custody there. He has been lodged in Tihar Jail since then.
He is on of the three alleged middlemen being probed in the AgustaWestland chopper scam case. The other two being Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.
The deal was signed on February 8, 2010, for the supply of VVIP choppers worth 556.262 million euros. The CBI, in its chargesheet, claimed an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (approximately ₹2,666 crore) to the Indian exchequer due to the deal.
In a separate chargesheet in June 2016, the Enforcement Directorate alleged that James received 30 million euros (approximately ₹225 crore) from AgustaWestland.
Published – April 17, 2025 02:03 am IST
