Augusta Westland deal: Dubai court directs middleman Christian James Michael extradition to India
Dubai, Nov 20 (IBNS): A Dubai court on Monday upheld a lower court's order that allowed AgustaWestland deal’s alleged middleman Christian James Michael's extradition to India, media reports said.
The Court of Cassation upheld on Monday a lower court order which said that Michel could be extradited, dismissing appeals filed by his defence lawyers, reported Khaleej Times.
The order was pronounced on Monday by a court bench which was presided over by judge Abdelaziz Al Zarouni.
Member judges Musabeh Thaaloub, Mostafa Al Shinawi, Mahmoud Sultan and another judge was present during the pronouncement of the order, reports said.
On Monday, Emirati lawyer Abdul Moneim Bin Suwaidan of Bin Suwaidan Firm for Advocates and Legal Counsels, who is representing Michel, submitted documents showing that courts in Switzerland and Italy had ruled on not to extradite his client, reported Khaleej Times.
Last year, Michel was arrested in the UAE.
The extradition proceedings are going on since then.
The British middleman was wanted in India for allegedly organising bribes in exchange for a contract for VVIP helicopters.
An Italian court investigated the contract because Agusta's parent company is Finmeccanica, an Italian defence manufacturer, and decided that vast amounts of bribes were routed to India by company executives to land the deal for 12 VVIP helicopters for about Rs. 3,600 crore.
The deal was cancelled by India in 2014 after the Italians began investigating it, a point the Congress is flashing in its defence along with the fact that AgustaWestland has not been banned by the new government from bidding for new defence deals.
SP Tyagi and Chopper scam:
In 2016, former Air Force Chief SP Tyagi was arrested in connection with the VVIP chopper deal scam.
He was the first ever military chief of the nation who was arrested.
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