A British man who has been held in India without trial for six years in connection with a high-profile corruption case has been granted bail by the Delhi High Court. Christian James Michel, an arms consultant, is accused of bribing Indian officials to secure a multi-million-dollar helicopter contract for British-Italian defense company AgustaWestland. He denies the charges.

Michel was extradited to India from the United Arab Emirates in 2018 and has been in custody ever since. His case is tied to a controversy involving India’s former ruling Congress party, where allegations of irregularities in the $753 million deal were reported.

According to court documents, Michel is alleged to have received around €42 million for helping secure the contract. However, his lawyers argue that there is no evidence to connect him to the alleged offense.

Both India’s financial crime-fighting agency and domestic crime bureau have been investigating Mr. Michel. Since the investigations are yet to be concluded and no trials have begun, the court described it as a “prolonged incarceration” situation.

The judge also noted that his six years in pre-trial custody are “alarmingly close” to the maximum seven-year sentence for money laundering, one of the charges he faces.

In one of the cases, the Supreme Court granted bail, and the Delhi High Court followed suit. Michel is now free to leave Delhi’s high-security Tihar jail, but he cannot leave India as his passport has been seized.

The deal was eventually scrapped in 2014. Italian prosecutors had suspected that kickbacks worth almost $67.6 million were paid to Indian officials.

Two former executives of AgustaWestland’s parent company were tried and acquitted in Italy in 2018. Indian officials have said that their acquittals would not affect the case in India.

In 2016, India’s air force chief was arrested for bribery and later released on bail.

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Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crrdqp9y212o