Accused conduit denies that he ever met Soniaor any Gandhi

Offering himself up for questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the accused middleman in the VVIP helicopter deal James Christian Michel on Tuesday said he was willing to answer all questions from Indian investigators in order “to clear” his name, but insisted he had never met Congress president Sonia Gandhi or a “single Gandhi” in his life.

Speaking to The Hindu from Dubai, where he has been based for several years, Mr. Michel said, “I think this is the only way to settle this, a direct questioning. I wish the CBI or ED would come here. Because I can be helpful with documentation.” He claimed that he had sent a written offer in the case to Prime Minister Narendra Modi but hadn’t received a reply.

Mr. Michel’s comments come days after an Italian court reversed the acquittal of executives of the company Finmeccanica, convicting them for “over-invoicing” the sale of a dozen helicopters for Indian VVIPs in 2010, in order to bribe officials.

The CBI and the ED have accused Mr. Michel of working at the behest of accused U.K.-based firm AgustaWestland and its parent Italian major Finmeccanica to route funds to India for bribing officials. He had allegedly received €30 million for the job. A questionnaire sent by The Hindu to the Ministry of External Affairs on efforts by the government to pursue the case and question Mr. Michel received no reply.

Mr. Michel rejected the evidence submitted in the Italian courts, including a typewritten note that showed him instructing a Finmeccanica executive to ask the “British Ambassador” to “target” advisers of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, including Manmohan Singh and Ahmed Patel, ostensibly to push the deal. The evidence also comprised a handwritten note indicating payment of Rs. 360 crore in alleged bribes.

( With inputs from

Suhasini Haidar )