New Delhi: The British High Commission in India on Friday was granted consular access to Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case.

The High Commission, in a statement to news agency ANI, said, “Our staff are supporting a British man who is detained in India, and have visited him to check his welfare.”

On Thursday, Michel moved a Delhi court, seeking permission to make calls to his family members and his lawyers abroad.

Lodged in Tihar jail, Michel was extradited from Dubai and was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on December 22.

Michel is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The others are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.

The ED, in its charge sheet filed against Michel in June 2016, had alleged that he had received about Rs 225 crore from AgustaWestland.

The CBI, in its charge sheet, has alleged an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer in the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010, for the supply of VVIP choppers worth 556.262 million euros.

With PTI inputs