The Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar today taken up the cognizance on the supplementary chargesheet accusing Mr. Ratul Puri, nephew of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Kamal Nath to have received huge sum as kickback. The chargesheet was filed by the Enforcement Directorate in the matter connected with irregularity in purchase of 12 VVIP choppers from Italy-based Finmeccanica’s British subsidiary AgustaWestland.

The ED represented by advocate Naveen Kumar Matta contended in the court that 17 million Euros as kickbacks which reached to the accused through two channels – Interseller and the firms owned by Christian Michel, a middleman in the chopper deal. He further stated that important documents were recovered in search of the residence of Niyamat Bakshi, who is a trusted friend of Puri. The agency said it also relied upon the statement of Rajiv Saxena, accused-turn-approver in the chopper scam.

After the conclusion of the argument, the special CBI Judge issued notice to the accused and also directed to issue production warrant to appear on 18th December. Further, the Court also issued summons to another accused Jaspreet Ahuja to appear before the court on 18th December, 2019. Mr. Ahuja who is a professional investment banker alleged to have aided Mr. Puri in the remittance of the kickback amount.

— India Legal Bureau