A special court on Friday dismissed the bail applications of British national Christian Michel, a key accused in the ₹3,700-crore VVIP chopper deal scam, in connection with the cases being pursued by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate. He is currently lodged in Tihar Jail.
During the last hearing on June 10, the court had reserved its order on the bail pleas after the two agencies filed their replies.
Michel was extradited from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in December 2018 and since then he has been in judicial custody. Both the agencies have recorded his statements. It is alleged that he had been hired by the helicopter suppliers as a middleman for routing the funds to be used to bribe Indian public servants to bag the deal.
The Dubai Police had arrested Michel in February 2017 on the basis of an Interpol Red Notice issued against him. The Indian authorities sent the extradition request to the UAE authorities on March 19, 2017. After hearing both sides, the court there allowed had his extradition to India.