AgustaWestland case: ED's chargesheet against Christian Michel reveals 'AP' as Ahmed Patel, 'FAM' as family

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A supplementary chargesheet was filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday against Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case.

The chargesheet against the British national was filed before Special Judge Arvind Kumar who has listed the matter for Saturday.

The ED has made a big revelation in the supplementary chargesheet, saying that during interrogation Michel has said that the notings mentioned as ‘FAM’ and ‘AP’ in his hand-written diary means Ahmed Patel and Family respectively. Michel has also accepted that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was under pressure from some powerful leaders.

The 52-page chargesheet also mentions meetings with 'the Italian lady's son' who 'will be the next Prime Minister' of India. The ED has also referred to 'son's power growing in the party and mother unaware of full facts' in its dispatch.

The ED has also named Michel's partner David Syms as an accused. Some new individuals and firms are also named as accused in the supplementary chargesheet.

It may be recalled that Michel was extradited from Dubai to India in December last year and was arrested after his arrival in New Delhi. The ED has alleged in its chargesheet that bribes were paid to “middlemen”, including some politicians, when India decided to buy 12 AgustaWestland helicopters from Italian firm Finmeccanica.

Besides Michel, the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are probing two other middlemen in this case. The two other middlemen are  Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.

In 2016, a chargesheet was filed by the ED against Michel and in that chargesheet the ED had accused Michel of received EUR 30 million from the Italian firm as “kickbacks” in order to execute the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal in their favour. The chopper deal was finalised in February 2010 but was scrapped by then UPA government in 2014 over bribe allegations.