3 min readNew DelhiFeb 25, 2025 02:21 PM IST
First published on: Feb 25, 2025 at 02:19 PM IST
Opposing a bail plea filed by Christian Michel James, alleged middleman in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper deal, the Enforcement Directorate submitted in the Delhi High Court on Tuesday that he was a flight risk, citing his British citizenship.
James, however, said in the court of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma that his passport had expired.
Zoheb Hossain, special counsel for the ED, said James was granted bail by the Supreme Court only in the predicate case of theCBI and not in the money-laundering case, adding that being a British citizen, he could “run away” and that he was a flight risk.
Advocate Alio Joseph, representing James, countered the argument saying James’ passport had anyway expired and that he would have to apply for a renewal, which may take some time. “I don’t have a passport, I will have to take permission to continue here (staying in India)…After completing the maximum sentence, if I run away or stay, what does it matter? It has been six years and two months (of incarceration) here and four months in Dubai…I’m entitled to remission. ED’s argument does not hold any water,” he said.
James has been in jail since December 2018, and the maximum punishment possible in the ED complaint is seven years. The ED filed its chargesheet in June 2016 alleging that James received 30 million Euros (approximately Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.
Justice Sharma remarked that the court would prefer to see the conditions imposed by the trial court for the bail granted by the Supreme Court first. “Let them (trial court) write the conditions..I want to see what conditions they are imposing.”
The court will continue hearing the matter further on Friday.
James, one of the alleged middlemen in the deal for the purchase of 12 VVIP choppers, was extradited from the UAE in 2018 to stand trial in the case. He moved the Supreme Court in the CBI case after the Delhi High Court denied him bail on September 25, 2024.
The CBI then said James was a consultant for AgustaWestland and acted as a middleman on behalf of the firm. According to the CBI, undue favour was given to AgustaWestland in awarding the VVIP helicopter contract by accepting illegal gratification from it through middlemen.
The CBI claimed that James “had been paid a huge bribe amount by M/s AgustaWestland, which was paid to the officers of the Indian Air Force, MOD (Ministry of Defence), bureaucrats, politicians and family in India for showing favour in the VVIP helicopter deal”.
The ED booked James on money-laundering charges with a complaint lodged against him on July 3, 2014. He was booked under sections 7, 8, 9, 12 and 13(2), read with section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The Supreme Court last week granted James bail in the CBI case on grounds of the delay in the trial.
British national Christian Michel James, one of the accused in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam case. 
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