New Delhi: The Interpol has re-notified its red corner notice (RCN) against European middlemen Christian Michel James in the AgustaWestland helicopter deal case.
The RCN against James, who is said to be one of the biggest beneficiaries in the bribe deal and also an accused in the case, has been re-notified at the request of the enforcement directorate (ED).
According to sources, the RCN has been re-notified to include charges of money laundering under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
“The charges under PMLA were not included earlier in the Interpol RCN notified against Michel on the request of the CBI, the agency which is also investigating the case. These charges have been inserted and the notice re-notified. Indian authorities require him for prosecution in the case,” they said.
The CBI has also sought his arrest for “criminal conspiracy, cheating, illegal gratification and abuse of official position”.
With this re-notification of the global warrant, both CBI and ED have now got RCNs issued against three alleged middlemen wanted in this case — Carlo Gerosa, Guido Ralph Haschke and Michel — after a special court here issued non-bailable warrants against them on their separate pleas late last year.
In ED’s case, the court’s order came as it sought issuance of an open NBW against James, who is presently in Dubai, claiming that AgustaWestland had allegedly paid a “kickback” of around 70 million Euro out of which around 30 million Euros was paid to James and his firm, while Gerosa and Haschke had allegedly cornered the rest.
The agency had claimed that “investigations revealed that kick backs received by Michel in his company in the guise of two agreements from M/s Agusta Westland, were nothing other than that of the kickback which is thus a proceeds of crime."
The CBI on March 13, 2013 had booked former IAF Chief and 13 others under charges of bribery, cheating and corruption in the VVIP chopper deal. Subsequently, ED also registered a case on the basis of CBI’s FIR.
The former Air Chief, his cousins--Sanjeev alias Julie, Rajeev alias Docsa and Sandeep, European middlemen Carlo Gerosa, Christian Michel and Guido Haschke were among 13 individuals named in the FIR as accused by the CBI.
Six companies including Italy-based Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland, Mohali-based IDS Infotech, Chandigarh-based Aeromatrix, IDS Tunisia
and IDS Mauritius had also been named in the FIR.
The CBI in its FIR alleged that out of total Euro 51 million kickbacks paid by AgustaWestland, Michel was paid about Euro 30 million.
