While the Indian investigators are maintaining silence, the Italian court dealing the kickbacks in AgustaWestland on Wednesday issued arrest warrants against the main middleman and fugitive Christian Michel and Gautam Khaitan, the Director of a company involved in the kickback money routing.
According to Reuters, the judge declared both Michel and Khaitan as fugitives, ordering for dispatch of arrest warrant to their lawyers. Khaitan's advocate Maria Francesca Fuso said her client could not be considered as fugitive. “He knew nothing about this measure, there has been no attempt to evade justice. He's Indian, he works in India and he lives in India,” she said, adding that her client would appeal against the measure.
Khaitan was questioned by CBI in connection with the VVIP helicopter scam.He was Director of a Chandigarh company called Aeromatrix and some portion of the kickbacks was allegedly routed through this company.Fugitive Michel's advocate Rosemary Patrizi Dos Anjos termed the arrest warrant as “absurd.” Michel's letter to the company representative Peter Hulett had ignited a huge controversy. The letter produced in the Italian court by investigators talks about “managing” senior Indian politicians like Ahmed Patel for clinching the `3,600-crore worth deal for purchasing 12 VVIP helicopters.
The note talks about Congress president Sonia Gandhi's acceptance of the controversial helicopter model and the need for “targeting” her “closest advisors” like Manmohan Singh, Ahmed Patel, Pranab Mukherjee, Veerappa Moily, Oscar Fernadez, MK Narayanan and one little known Vinay Singh. “As Mrs. Gandhi is the driving force behind the VIP, she will not fly any more in the Mi-8. Mrs.Gandhi and her closest advisers are the people the High Commissioner (British) should target,” said the controversial note.
Another middleman Guido Hascheke was confronted in the Court with this note and photos of Sonia Gandhi and Ahmed Patel.Italian papers have already reported Michel's father late Wolfgang Michel's proximity with the Gandhi family. The fugitive was anchored in Dubai, as soon as the Italian investigators nabbed Haschke and is now believed to have shifted to Switzerland.