The Delhi High Court, on Friday, reserved its order on the bail plea of British national Christian Michel James, the alleged middleman in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper deal, in a case registered by the Enforcement Directorate.
James’ counsel Aljo Joseph reiterated to Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma that James has already undergone seven years and one month of incarceration, including incarceration in Dubai, and thus has completed the maximum possible punishment for the offences he is accused of, along with remission.
ED’s counsel, on the other hand, submitted that the period of incarceration in Dubai cannot be counted and argued that he has been incarcerated for a little over six years in an Indian prison.
James has been in jail since December 2018, and the maximum punishment possible in the ED complaint is seven years.
ED also reiterated that he is a flight risk. Joseph, countering ED’s submission, added, “the purpose of staying in india is to serve the sentence. So I’ve completed 7 years with remission.”
James, one of the alleged middlemen in the deal for the purchase of 12 VVIP choppers, was extradited from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2018 to stand trial in the case. He moved the Supreme Court in the CBI case after the Delhi High Court denied him bail on September 25, 2024.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that filed its chargesheet against James in 2017 had alleged that James was a consultant for AgustaWestland and acted as a middleman negotiating on behalf of the firm. According to the agency, undue favour was given to AgustaWestland for awarding the contract for procurement of VVIP helicopters in its favour by accepting illegal gratification from it through middlemen.
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CBI claimed that James “had been paid a huge bribe amount by M/s AgustaWestland, which was paid to the officers of the Indian Air Force, MOD (Ministry of Defence), bureaucrats, politicians and family in India for showing favour in the VVIP helicopter deal”.
ED also booked him on money laundering charges with a complaint lodged against him on July 3, 2014. James was booked under Sections 7, 8, 9, 12 and 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
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