The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday, 18th of February granted bail to middleman Christian Michel James in the ₹3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam. The Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta noted that Christian Michel James had been in custody for six years while the investigation was still ongoing. The court ruled that he would be released on bail, subject to conditions set by the trial court.
The case pertains to the procurement of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland, an Italian company. James, a British national, was allegedly hired by AgustaWestland to influence Indian politicians, officials, and journalists to secure the deal. He was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 and subsequently arrested. His bail plea had previously been denied by the Delhi High Court on 25th of September 2024.
Supreme Court grants bail to British citizen Christian Michel, accused in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam in the case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
(File photo) pic.twitter.com/U6RhHRJ4vB
— ANI (@ANI) February 18, 2025
Christian Michel James is one of three middlemen accused of bribing multiple individuals to finalize the contract. He had been associated with AgustaWestland since the 1980s, following in his father’s footsteps as a consultant for the company in India. The CBI claims that Michel gathered intelligence from the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Ministry of Defence and shared it with his associates in Italy and Switzerland.
In July 2006, AgustaWestland’s commercial manager Renzo Lunardi proposed that Michel collaborate with fellow middlemen Ralph Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa for “scouting and monitoring activities” related to the helicopter deal. The three allegedly agreed on a commission of 7% of the total contract value.
On the 1st of January, 2014, India canceled the contract with AgustaWestland over allegations of contractual violations and kickbacks amounting to ₹423 crore. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) later alleged in its June 2016 chargesheet that Christian Michel James received approximately ₹225 crore from AgustaWestland. Despite his prolonged custody, the investigation remains ongoing.
