AugustaWestland chopper case: Deepak Talwar in ED custody for 7 days
New Delhi, Feb 1 (IBNS): A Delhi court has granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seven days custody of alleged lobbyist Deepak Talwar in the Augusta-Westland VVIP chopper case, media reports said.
Businessman Talwar and accountant Rajiv Saxena were extradited from Dubai and handed over to Indian authorities on Thursday. Their arrests follow that of British businessman Christian Michel in the same case.
Michel was also extradited from Dubai in December.
According to NDTV, a submission from the ED said Saxena was the “key money launderer” in the scheme.
Deepak Talwar is wanted by the Indian authorities for allegedly misusing over Rs 90 crore taken through the foreign funding route as part of corporate social responsibility.
Reports said Saxena was earlier summoned by the Enforcement Directorate several times in connection with the case, but he did not cooperate with the Indian investigators.
It was alleged that Michel had entered into a criminal conspiracy with co-accused persons, which included the then IAF chief SP Tyagi and his family members, and government officials had abused their official positions by reducing the service ceiling of the VVIPs helicopter from 6,000 metres to 4,500 metres, at the time when the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government was in power.
On Nov 19, a Dubai court upheld a lower court's order that allowed AgustaWestland deal’s alleged middleman Christian James Michael's extradition to India. The Court of Cassation upheld a lower court order which said that Michel could be extradited, dismissing appeals filed by his defence lawyers.
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