The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued summons to two former Indian Air Force (IAF) officers in connection with its money laundering probe into the Rs3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case. Officials said that two retired officials — an Air Marshal and a Group Captain — have been allegedly found to have been associated with European national Christian Michel — the alleged middleman in this case — vis-a-vis some monetary transactions.
ED sources said that the agency has tracked purported payments, running into lakhs, made by Michel to these officials as “personal unexplained payments”, which includes reimbursements made in connection with foreign travels. “They (ex-IAF officials) have been asked to join investigations and explain their connection with Michel that the agency detected,” sources said.