Key Agusta Player Wrote To PM Modi Citing 'Hawala Tricks', 'Fake Books'

New Delhi: Christian Michel, wanted in India for allegedly organising bribes in exchange for a contract for VVIP helicopters, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi denying any role in the Agusta chopper scam.

In his letter sent in November, Mr Michel said documents submitted that allegedly prove his involvement amounted to "one of the oldest tricks played by many hawala dealers in India, leave a fake black book in your safe falsely naming everyone not involved whom you may have a grudge against in case you are raided".

Mr Michel is based in the UK. In 2010, the government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ordered 12 helicopters for use by top politicians for Rs 3,600 crore. The supplier was AgustaWestland, whose parent company Finmeccanica ran into allegations of bribe-giving in Italy. The investigation there quickly expanded to include the India deal, and recently, an Italian court ruled that there is evidence that top executives in Italy furnished bribes to Indian officers. Mr Michele's letter to PM Modi has been included in the court order.

India had cancelled the contract in 2014 after the charges of corruption were made in Italy, but the court verdict earlier this month has resuscitated the Agusta controversy as a national headline and embarrassment for the Congress, which is now in the Opposition.

Investigators have said that Mr Michel was hired by Agusta as a consultant to execute the supply of bribes worth 30 million euros in India. In his letter to Prime Minister Modi, he refutes this strongly and asks why, if India was convinced of the merits of its case, it did not challenge the acquittal in Italy in 2014 of Giuseppe Orsi, who had been arrested as head of Finmeccanica for corruption in deals that included India.

Mr Michel also asks Mr Modi if it's correct that last year, the Prime Minister asked his Italian counterpart for "assistance" in the Agusta investigation in India in exchange for help with the case of two Italian marines who are being tried in India for killing fishermen in Kerala, a case that has convoluted diplomatic relations between the two countries.

In Parliament today, where the Agusta scam dominated the agenda, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said reports of the PM meeting the Italian premier are incorrect.

Mr Michel has earlier claimed in interviews that Mr Modi asked specifically for evidence against Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Congress party.

There are now reports that the CBI wants to extradite him to investigate allegations that he was paid Rs 334 crore as payoffs.