AgustaWestland case: ED arrests alleged middleman Sushen Mohan Gupta

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New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Sushen Mohan Gupta, an alleged middleman in the VVIP chopper scam. ED sources said Gupta will be produced in Delhi's Patiala House Court later today.

Last week, the Delhi court had allowed Rajiv Saxena, an accused in the case, to turn "approver". Saxena had moved an application before Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar to become an approver in the case on February 27. He had told the court that he was not under any pressure and that assurance was neither given to or sought from him.

The AgustaWestland helicopter deal, finalised during the previous government headed by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, got mired in the allegations of kickbacks.

According to a charge sheet filed by the ED, the alleged middleman Christian Michel had received kickbacks to the tune of 30 million Euros from AgustaWestland for the deal involving the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters. The deal, signed in 2007, was scrapped in 2013 after bribery allegations surfaced.

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