The Enforcement Directorate has fresh evidence that could trace the money trail in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case.
CHRISTIAN MICHEL has a bad handwriting; he claims to suffer from dyslexia. His thoughts, however, are clear. The British national—an alleged middleman in the 03,700 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case—uses simple words and short sentences to answer each question put to him by the Enforcement Directorate. Within a fortnight, Michel has managed to write, in legible handwriting, his statement to the ED, which forms a key part of the voluminous charge-sheet the agency filed on April 4. At first, he wrote in upper case, but soon turned to cursive to finish his task quickly, said an investigator.
The supplementary charge-sheet has kicked off a political storm, as it says that “recipients of the kickbacks (to swing the VVIP chopper deal in favour of AgustaWestland) include several categories of persons, namely
Air Force officers, bureaucrats including defence ministry officials and top political leaders of the then ruling party. “As per Christian Michel James, ‘AP’ (in the ‘budget sheet’ of the deal) means Ahmed Patel (UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s aide) and ‘Fam’ means family,” said the ED. A certain “Mrs Gandhi” is also named in the charge-sheet.
While the fresh charge-sheet has set the cat among the pigeons, it does not say whether the bribery trail reaches the Congress top brass; no Congress leader is an “accused” in the case.
Michel has not denied that the money—pegged at €70 million—exchanged hands at various levels, but it is yet to be established whether a part of this amount reached any Congress member. ED sources said further investigations could include questioning individuals who could help trace the money trail.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 28, 2019-Ausgabe von THE WEEK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 28, 2019-Ausgabe von THE WEEK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Themes Of Choice
As Savvy Investors Seek New Avenues, Thematic Mutual Funds Are Gaining Popularity
A golden girl
One of India's most formidable beauties passed away earlier this month. The odd thing is she would absolutely hate this obituary; she hated being written about and avoided publicity for all of her nine decades. Indira Aswani was 93 when she died. But anyone who encountered her, even briefly, was in such awe of her grace and poise, and one could not but remember her forever.
The interest in wine is growing delightfully in India
The renowned British wine writer and television presenter Jancis Robinson, 74, recently came to Delhi and Mumbai to reacquaint herself with India's wine industry. This was the Robinson's fourth visit to India; the last one was seven years ago. On this trip, Robinson and her husband, restaurateur Nicholas Lander, were hosted by the Taj Hotels and Sonal Holland, India's only Master of Wine.
United in the states
Indian-Americans coming together under the Democratic umbrella could get Harris over the line in key battlegrounds
COVER DRIVE
Usage-driven motor insurance policies offer several benefits
GDP as the only measure of progress is illogical
Dasho Karma Ura, one of the world's leading happiness experts, has guided Bhutan's unique gross national happiness (GNH) project. He uses empirical data to show that money cannot buy happiness in all circumstances, rather it is family and health that have the strongest positive effect on happiness. Excerpts from an interview:
India is not a controlling big brother
Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay considers India a benevolent elder sibling as the \"big brotherly attitude\" is happily missing from bilateral ties. He thinks the relationship shared by the two countries has become a model of friendship not just for the region, but for the entire world. \"India's attitude is definitely not of a big brother who is controlling and does not allow the little brother to blossom and grow,\" says Tobgay in an exclusive interview with THE WEEK.
Comrade with no foes
Lal Salaam, Comrade Yechury-you were quite a guy!
Pinning down saffron
In her first political bout, Vinesh Phogat rides on the anti-BJP sentiment across Haryana
MAKE IN MANIPUR
Home-made rockets and weapons from across the border are escalating the conflict