AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case: CBI gets custody of Christian Michel for 4 more days

The CBI had earlier asked for a 5-day extension of Christian Michel's custody. 

The 57-year-old British national was produced before the Special Judge Arvind Kumar who allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to quiz Michel till December 15.

Special Public Prosecutor DP Singh told the court Michel is required to be taken to Mumbai and also needed to be confronted with some documents.

Michel's defence counsel had opposed the plea for further extension of custody.

The middleman was presented in the court after a five-day CBI custody. He was extradited to India on December 4 from the United Arab Emirates

The next day, he was produced before the court which allowed his five-day custodial interrogation by the CBI which was later extended to five more days.

Michel is one of the three middlemen being probed in the case, besides Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa, by the ED and the CBI. Both the agencies notified an Interpol red corner notice (RCN) against him after the court issued a non-bailable warrant against him.

The CBI has alleged there was an estimated loss of Euro 398.21 million (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer in the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010 for the supply of VVIP choppers worth Euro 556.262 million.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), in its charge sheet filed against Michel in June 2016, had alleged that he received EUR 30 million (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.