India
According to the note accessed by MyNation, the page has 13 short forms divided into 'Bur', 'Pol' and 'All.' Every column has six, two and five short forms which can be the names of the then top defence officials, top Congress leaders, ministers and bureaucrats
New Delhi: After India extradited AgustaWestland scam accused Christian Michel, the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) top priority now is to decipher the alleged diary and the handwritten notes recovered from him.
There are initials like ‘AP’, ‘FAM’, ‘DS’ found in Michel’s diary.
According to the sources, the CBI will record his statement over the handwritten notes which can reveal some big names in bureaucracy as well as in the Indian National Congress (INC) who allegedly took bribe.
Also read: After Christian Michel’s extradition, Vijay Mallya makes offer to repay loans
There are allegations that the purchases of the VVIP choppers were decided collectively in which the Prime Minister Office (PMO) was also a part of.
SP Tyagi, the then Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, who was arrested in the case, had said that the decision of purchasing choppers was 'collective' and the PMO was also involved.
“It was a collective decision and not his (Tyagi's) individual one. It was a collective decision of which the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) was also a part," Tyagi had told the court.
Michel, who was brought to India from UAE on Tuesday, has said that the diary and the notes don’t belong to him and he is not aware about the code words written in the notes.
According to the note accessed by MyNation, the page has 13 short forms divided into 'Bur', 'Pol' and 'All.' Every column has six, two and five short forms which can be the names of the then top defence officials, top Congress leaders, ministers and bureaucrats.
In the note, amounts along with Euro signs are mentioned in each column. It has been understood that this was the amount paid to the ministers, bureaucrats and others by Michel in the Rs 3,600-crore scam.
The CBI will first record Michel's statement under Section 164 so that it can be used in the case. It is possible that the CBI may call other people involved in the case on the basis of his statement.
The CBI has already filed a charge sheet in the case in 2017 where Tyagi and the other accused were named.
In the charge sheet, Air Marshal JS Gujral (retd), who had retired as deputy chief of air staff, in charge of procurements and former CEO AgustaWestland had been charged with offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, conspiracy and cheating.
After recording Michel’s statement, the CBI will file another charge sheet in the case. It is likely that the CBI may call the Congress leaders, bureaucrats involved in the matter who had earlier escaped due to no direct evidence. The notes recovered by the agency will be the main evidence in the case.
The CBI, in a statement, said that the entire operation was supervised by national security adviser Ajit Doval and coordinated by CBI’s acting director M Nageswara Rao. A team led by joint director of CBI, A Sai Manohar, had gone to Dubai to facilitate Michel's extradition.
The involvement of Michel as a middleman in the VVIP chopper deal surfaced in 2012. Michel will be examined with respect to his involvement in the case and confronted with documents procured during raids by Swiss security agencies.
Sources said that Michel had entered into as many as 12 contracts through his two firms, with Finmeccannica, AgustaWestland and Westland helicopters to legitimise the illicit commission on procurement of the VVIP choppers.
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