The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday strongly opposed a plea filed by alleged middleman Christian Michel James seeking relaxation of bail conditions in the ₹3,600-crore AgustaWestland money laundering case.
The matter was heard before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court, who has now listed the case for further hearing on May 6. James, who is lodged in jail, was produced virtually in compliance with the court’s earlier directions and will be produced again via video-conferencing on the next date.
James, a British national, moved the court seeking modification of two key bail conditions: the requirement to furnish a ₹5 lakh surety and the condition mandating the surrender of his passport. His counsel, Advocate Aljo K Joseph, argued that his old passport had expired and that obtaining a new one could take 4–8 weeks.
The ED, however, opposed any relaxation, stressing that James has no roots in India and poses a flight risk. “The applicant is a foreign national and has no roots in India. If no local surety is furnished… there is no way to ensure his presence in India and he can easily flee the country,” the agency submitted.
Regarding the passport, the ED suggested that if a new passport is issued, it should be directly handed over to the investigating officer or the trial court to prevent any misuse.
James was granted bail by the Delhi High Court in the ED case on March 4, following an earlier bail order by the Supreme Court in a related CBI case on February 18. He was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 and is being investigated by both the ED and CBI in connection with the controversial VVIP chopper deal.
The AgustaWestland case involves alleged kickbacks and irregularities in the procurement of 12 VVIP helicopters from the Italian firm AgustaWestland in a deal signed on February 8, 2010. The CBI has estimated a loss of €398.21 million (approximately ₹2,666 crore) to the exchequer due to the deal. According to the ED’s 2016 chargesheet, James received €30 million (around ₹225 crore) as commission.
James is one of the three key alleged middlemen in the case, alongside Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.
The court will now consider the matter on May 6.
