Christian Michel lands in India, to face court today

NEW DELHI: Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the VVIP chopper scam case, was brought to India at around 10:40 pm on Tuesday by a chartered flight after India won a politically significant extradition battle in Dubai.

As first reported by ET on Tuesday, the decks were cleared after Michel’s appeal was rejected enabling the Justice Ministry in Dubai to pass an administrative order and complete the legal formalities for his deportation to India.

Indian government representatives had been in Dubai for the past few days to complete the process. Incidentally, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj is also in the UAE for a meeting of the bilateral joint commission.

On arrival, official sources told ET that Michel was formally arrested and will be produced before the special CBI judge in Patiala House on Wednesday. Both CBI and ED will seek his custodial interrogation from the court. The expectation is that he may reveal the names of Indian ‘political conduits’, which he has so far denied.

India, according to officials, upped its diplomatic efforts on Michel’s extradition plea after November 19, when Dubai's top court refused to entertain Michel’s appeal against extradition.

New Delhi then persisted on expediting the administrative order by the Dubai authorities, which is necessary for any resident to be extradited.

The Indian government, it may be noted, was never a party to the legal proceedings pending in the Dubai courts. However, CBI’s special investigation team (SIT) probing the AgustaWestland case under special director Rakesh Asthana constantly supplied “incriminating evidence” against Michel to Dubai prosecutors. This mechanism was established after the Dubai authorities informed India in February 2017 that there was no evidence of a Dubai company facilitating the payment of kickbacks.


“No data in respect of Global Services FZE, Dubai, could be evidenced,” read an official communication sent by Dubai authorities on February 2, 2017. It added that “investigation and scrutinising the database of criminal information system found no personal data in respect of David Syms”.

David Syms, a member of the Syms family, controls a large number of companies. Syms is listed as director in more than two dozen firms. As per available information, David along with his octogenarian father Charles Syms, were business associates of Michel for more than 15 years. Global Services FZE, Michel’s Dubai firm, was signed on to facilitate the sale of 14 old Westland choppers to be procured from Pawan Hans.

Following the communication, CBI’s SIT supplied “additional incriminating evidence” showing Michel’s involvement in the alleged corruption scandal. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also provided evidence to convince Dubai’s public prosecution office to extradite Michel.

In September, the Dubai Court of Appeals ruled in favour of Michel’s extradition. But Michel challenged his extradition plea calling it a political trial.

Rubbishing his charge, the Dubai court held that “the argument is rejected as the request for extradition is not in the case of political, religious or racial in nature”. The court ruled that “its (request) main objective is to try the accused in a criminal case”. Michel’s other claim of “absence of prescribed guarantee” also found no favour with the Dubai court.

The Dubai authorities separately approached the Dubai courts seeking legal advice on deporting Michel, who is a British citizen. The court replied in the affirmative.

Michel had opposed the extradition request on the ground that he stood exonerated from British courts and Swiss tribunals from the same charges. Michel also cited “clause 10 of non-extradition” citing possibility of exposing him to inhuman treatment.

Finding no force in his contentions, Dubai Court ruled that “the verdict of the Italian courts in the case number 357/13 criminal FIR 2246/12 registered against him and other two, Giuseppe Orsi and Spagnolini Bruno, found him guilty”. An appellate court in Italy earlier this year, however, had acquitted both Orsi and Bruno citing no evidence of corruption against them.

Michel’s appeal against the said order was turned down by the appellate court known as the Court of Cassation last month. The only legal remedy left with Michel was to approach the Ministry of Justice which also found no merit in Michel’s plea.

CBI STATEMENT
The CBI in a statement released late on Tuesday evening said that the “entire operation is being coordinated” by the interim director M Nageswara Rao “under the guidance” of national security adviser Ajit Doval. A team lead by A Sai Manohar, joint director, CBI, has been to Dubai for the purpose, it said.

The CBI had got a red notice issued through Interpol against Michel in November 2015.

The agency added that Michel will be examined with respect to his involvement in the case and confronted with documents recovered during raids by Swiss authorities and received by CBI through LRs indicating the bribes paid by Christian Michel James to Indian authorities for securing the contract for supply of VVIP Helicopters from AgustaWestland.