AgustaWestland: Indian court orders release of Briton Christian Michel held without trial for years

Christian Michel has been held for six years in the high-profile AgustaWestland corruption case.

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Christian James Michel, an arms consultant, is accused of bribing Indian officials to win a multimillion-dollar helicopter contract for British-Italian defence company AgustaWestland. He denies the charge.

He was extradited to India from the United Arab Emirates in 2018 and has been in custody ever since, in what a judge called an "exceptional" situation.

The AgustaWestland controversy was one of several corruption cases linked to India's former ruling Congress party, some of which fizzled out eventually.

In 2010 the Indian government signed a deal with AgustaWestland's parent company to purchase 12 helicopters.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crrdqp9y212o

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