CHRISTIAN JAMES MICHEL vs DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT

Judgment text excerpt

$~ * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Judgment delivered on: 04.03.2025 + BAIL APPLN. 1337/2024 CHRISTIAN JAMES MICHEL .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Aljo K. Joseph, Mr. Vishnu Shankar and Mr. Sriram P., Advocates versus DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT .....Respondent Through: Mr. Zoheb Hossain, Special counsel for ED with Mr. Vivek Gurnani, Standing Counsel for ED with Mr. Kartik Sabharwal, Advocate CORAM: HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE SWARANA KANTA SHARMA JUDGMENT SWARANA KANTA SHARMA, J 1. The applicant, Christian James Michel, seeks regular bail by way of the present application, in case arising out of ECIR No. DLZO/15/2014/AD(VM) 7551-7584, dated 03.07.2014, recorded for offence under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 [hereafter „PMLA‟]. FACTUAL BACKDROP 2. The brief facts of the case, as discernible from the material on BAIL APPLN. 1337/2024 Page 1 of 22 Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:ZEENAT PRAVEEN Signing Date:04.03.2025 18:31:43 record, are that based on a disclosure made by the then Head of External Relations of M/s Finmeccanica, the holding company of M/s AgustaWestland International Ltd. [hereafter „AWIL‟], Italian authorities had initiated an investigation in 2011 regarding alleged bribe payments through middlemen, including Guido Ralph Haschke and the present applicant i.e. Christian James Michel, in connection with the supply of 12 VVIP helicopters by AWIL to the Government of India. The Public Prosecutors‟ Office in Naples and Rome had conducted telephonic and technical surveillance on Guido Ralph Haschke and others, including the then CEO of M/s Finmeccanica. The surveillance had revealed that AWIL had disguised bribes as payments for engineering jobs. During a search at the residence of Guido Ralph Haschke‟s mother, S