Chopper case: ED gives nod to make Saxena approver

Will be useful to case, says counsel for ED

NEW DELHI, 31/01/2019: Rajiv Saxena (C), an accused in India's abortive, scandal-tainted helicopter deal with Anglo-Italian firm Agusta Westland, is escorted by Police as he leaves a court, being produced by the Enforcement Directorate officials in New Delhi on January 31, 2019. Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar / The Hindu

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday informed a Delhi court that it was agreeable to alleged middleman Rajiv Saxena’s proposal to make him an approver in the ₹3,600-crore AgustaWestland case.

He is an accused in the case and currently on bail.

Counsel for the ED submitted before Special Judge Arvind Kumar that Mr. Saxena becoming an approver would be useful to the case. The accused has already recorded his statement before a Metropolitan Magistrate and the Special Judge had received it.

The court posted the matter to March 25 for consideration. Mr. Saxena in his application seeking the court’s permission to turn approver said, “The applicant humbly prays without prejudice to his defence that he may be granted pardon approver under Section 306 of CrPC subject to the condition that he will make full disclosure to the extent facts are within his knowledge of which he will make true and proper disclosure subject to the grant of person.”

Mr. Saxena also submitted that he had filed the application on his own will and without any coercion. He urged the court to pardon and allow him to turn approver.

Christian Michel, another middleman in the chopper case, former AgustaWestland and Finmeccanica directors Giuseppe Orsi and Bruno Spagnolini, former Air Force chief S.P. Tyagi and Mr. Saxena’s wife Shivani have also been made accused by the ED.

The directorate has alleged that in connivance with Gautam Khaitan, one of the accused in the case, Mr. Saxena provided a global corporate structure for laundering illegal proceeds of crime for payment to various politicians, bureaucrats and Air Force officials.