India gets Michel

DAINIK NATION BUREAU

The UAE has extradited to India Christian Michel, wanted by probe agencies in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter case. With this development Narendra Modi led NDA government got big relief ahead of general election, which is due in 2019.

Sources said that Michel was brought to Delhi on a Gulfstream Jet at 10.35 pm on Tuesday. In a statement, the Central Bureau of Investigation said Michel was extradited to India in an “operation under the guidance of” National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

Michel is one of the three middlemen, besides Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa, being probed in the case by the ED and CBI. Both agencies had notified an Interpol red corner notice against him after the court issued a non-bailable warrant.

The middleman is wanted on charges of money laundering and bribery. The Enforcement Directorate in its chargesheet filed against Michel in June 2016, alleged that he received euro 30 million (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland in kickbacks.

The UAE government had cleared the extradition of 57-year-old Michel after his appeal against the move was turned down by a court there.