AgustaWestland deal middleman Christian Michel sent to 10-day judicial custody

NEW DELHI: AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal middleman Christian Michel was on Wednesday sent to 10 days judicial custody by a Delhi court till December 28. The 57-year-old British national was in CBI custody which was due to end on Wednesday. 

His counsel Aljo K Joseph has said that Michel is suffering from dyslexia and has been asked to write in cursive. 

Michel's name surfaced in the Rs 3,600-crore VVIP chopper deal in 2012 as one of the three middlemen for swinging the deal in favour of AgustaWestland and making illegal kickbacks to the Indian authorities. The other two middlemen are Ralph Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.

The special judge on December 15 allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation to quiz Michel till December 19. The CBI is grilling Michel since December 4 when he was extradited from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As per reports, the CBI needs more examination of Michel who is being confronted with documents the agency has as evidence of the corrupt practice during the deal. 

The CBI has informed the court that voluminous documents have been received from five countries pursuant to the Letters of Request and a number of documents are yet to be confronted with the accused.