AgustaWestland case accused, corporate lobbyist being brought to India
A suspect in the case related to alleged corruption in the Rs 3,600 crore AugustaWestland helicopter deal was brought back to India on Wednesday from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), his lawyers said on condition of anonymity.
Dubai-based Rajiv Saxena is the second accused in the case to be flown to India from overseas in less than two months.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in December, 2018, in a reply to Dubai-based businessman Saxena’s bail plea, had informed the court about the request for his extradition from Dubai as he had failed to join the investigation even after repeated reminders.
The ED had alleged that Rajeev, his wife and their two Dubai-based firms — Ms UHY Saxena, Dubai and Ms Matrix Holdings — routed “the proceeds of crime and further layered and integrated in buying the immovable properties/shares among others”.
The ED had said that its probe found that “Agusta Westland International Ltd, UK paid an amount of Euro 58 million as kickbacks through Gordian Services Sarl, Tunisia and IDS Sarl, Tunisia.
“These companies further siphoned off the said money/ proceeds of crime in the name of consultancy contracts to Interstellar Technologies Ltd, Mauritius, and others which were further transferred to UHY Saxena, Dubai and Matrix Holdings Ltd. Dubai and others,” the ED had charged.
The agency has taken their custody from the Delhi airport area and they will be produced before a special court here later in the day, the officials said. Both of them were picked by Dubai authorities on Wednesday “in assistance” to a request made by Indian agencies, they added.
In October, a Delhi court had issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Saxena after the ED informed the court that he was not joining the investigation even after repeated summons.
A co-accused and alleged middleman in this case, British national Christian James Michel was recently extradited from Dubai to India (in December last year). He is currently in judicial custody.
