Sources have said that Christian Michel, the middleman in the AgustaWestland scam, was granted bail by a Dubai court today. He has been asked to appear for the next hearing in the case on August 26.
As part of the conditions of his bail, Michel will have to submit a guarantor's passport in the court. In the event, that he does not appear for the hearing, then the guarantor will be liable to pay AED 500,000 (Rs 93,47,853).
Michel has been in detention in Dubai since June. He was placed under detention after India asked for his extradition through Dubai court.
Local lawyers have said the process of his release will take about five hours, depending on the guarantor's passport.
Michel made his applications on the grounds of his good conduct, lack of evidence against him and that he did not have any funds from the alleged kickbacks.
Only written submissions were presented in the case which was heard in a judge's chamber instead of an open court.
Michel's lawyer Rosemary Patrizi, who had earlier claimed that her client was forced to give a false confession incriminating Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi, was not present in court today.
Also absent from the proceedings was a representative from India's side. No Indian official attended the proceeding nor was a UAE national hired to represent India. This helped Michel get the bail, as the UAE court had clearly stated that no evidence exists against Michel in the previous hearing.
Michel, a British national, is accused of handling and routing over 60 million Euros for kickbacks in the deal for AgustaWestland luxury helicopters.
(With inputs from Munish Chandra Pandey in New Delhi)
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