Christian Michel’s lawyer Rosemary Patrizi told The Quint that her client never named senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel in his statement before the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
In the supplementary chargesheet filed in the Patiala House court by ED on Thursday (4 April), the agency has claimed that Michel, an accused in the case, in his statement to ED on 5 January 2019 has stated that the abbreviation ‘AP’ mentioned in the budget sheet stands for ‘Ahmed Patel’. PM Modi repeated this claim in his Dehradun rally on 5 April.
The ED received this ‘budget sheet’ in response to its Letter Rogatory sent to Italy. The budget sheet was recovered from Guido Haschke’s residence, a middleman in the VVIP chopper case.
The agency claims in the chargesheet that ‘as per the budget sheet, 30 million Euro was paid as a bribe to Air Force officers, Bureaucrats and Politicians’. There are several abbreviations mentioned in the ‘Political’ section, and one of them is ‘AP’.
Allegations Are Baseless: Ahmed Patel
In a telephone conversation with The Quint, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said,
“The allegations against me are baseless. This is nothing but a political gimmick. I have faith in the judiciary.”
The Quint has also learnt that Patel has not been called in for questioning by the ED, while Patrizi has claimed that the ED has manipulated Michel’s statement.
“Christian Michel never wrote that budget sheet. Nor did he ever dictate it to Haschke. In fact, he was not even aware of such a budget sheet till it was recovered from Haschke’s residence. Then how is it possible that he ended up saying to ED in his statement that AP stands for Ahmed Patel? ED is manipulating evidence.”Rosemary Patrizi, Christian Michel’s Lawyer, to The Quint
Patrizi also stated that she met Michel thrice in Tihar Jail in February 2019. Michel briefed her, saying that he was constantly asked about the budget sheet and the abbreviations mentioned in it. She says he told them time and again that he is not aware of anything that is mentioned in the budget sheet.
The ED chargesheet also claims that during the investigation, the agency has been able to further corroborate the kickback money trail with the ‘transactions as recorded on budget sheet’.
Michel’s statement to the ED is annexed with the chargesheet. It should be noted that when a statement of an accused or a witness is recorded by an ED official, it is hand-written and signed by the accused/witness. Not just that, but any statement given to the ED official is admissible in court. Hence, Michel’s statement will play a major role in the court trial.
But Michel’s lawyer claims that he never wrote Ahmed Patel’s name in the statement.
“I am absolutely sure that Michel never wrote in his statement that ‘AP’ stands for ‘Ahmed Patel’. I know that ED was putting pressure on Michel to name Patel.”Rosemary Patrizi, Christian Michel’s Lawyer
According to a former ED official, sometimes the accused or witness refuses to write the statement themselves. In such a scenario, it is typed by the ED official and signed by the accused/witness.
“If it is so that Michel has not written in his handwriting that AP stands for Ahmed Patel, rather it was typed by the ED official, then it would help Michel’s lawyer during the trial because they can easily refute it in the court.”Former ED Officer
In an interview with The Quint on 8 January 2019, Haschke said that the budget sheet (also known as budget note) was written by him on Michel’s dictation. Haschke also said that the budget sheet was a figment of Michel’s imagination.
“He (Michel) always tried to aggrandise his position, making himself very important, so boasting and dropping names was part of his game, which is now going against him. Dropping names was one of his specialties.”Guido Haschke, Middleman
The other abbreviation that the chargesheet refers to is ‘Fam’. The chargesheet says that Michel has admitted that ‘Fam’ stands for ‘Family’, but which family is not yet clear.
Michel was extradited to India from UAE in December 2018. The agency is probing alleged bribery in the UPA-era AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal worth Rs 3,600 crore. The allegation against Michel is that he bribed Indian politicians, bureaucrats and defence officials to secure the chopper deal.
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