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Agusta accused deported from UAE

Last Updated 08 February 2019, 12:36 IST

Rajiv Saxena, one of the accused in AgustaWestland scam, was deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to India on Wednesday night, two months after the Gulf country extradited over a suspected middleman Christian Michel.

Saxena is accused by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case that arose out of the multi-crore VVIP chopper case. His wife Shivani was earlier arrested by the ED and she is presently out on bail.

Sources said the plane carrying Saxena took off around 5:30 pm local time. The Indian government had requested his extradition from the UAE after he refused to join investigations.

Lawyers of Saxena claimed that he was picked up by UAE authorities in the morning and "illegally extradited" to India. "There were no extradition proceedings started in the UAE and he was not allowed access to his family or lawyers or essential daily medicine. He was onboarded onto a private jet from a private terminal at Dubai International Airport," ANI quoted the lawyers as saying.

They also claimed that when they contacted the authorities, they were told that they should ask the Indian authorities.

The latest move comes two months after the UAE extradited Michel in the AgustaWestland case on December 4 last year. Michel is presently in judicial custody.

Saxena's wife was arrested in July 2017 as she was the Director of M/s UHY Saxena, Dubai and M/s Matrix Holdings. Saxena is also a director in these companies. Investigators had claimed that it was through these companies that the proceeds of crime have been routed and further layered and integrated in buying immovable properties and shares.

According to the ED, M/s Agusta Westland International Ltd, UK paid an amount of Euro 58 million as kickbacks through M/s Gordian Services Sarl, Tunisia and M/s IDS Sarl, Tunisia for the deal involving 12 VVIP choppers.

"These companies further siphoned off the said money/proceeds of crime in the name of consultancy contracts to M/s Interstellar Technologies Ltd, Mauritius and others, which were further transferred to M/s UHY Saxena, Dubai, M/s Matrix Holdings Ltd. Dubai and others," the ED had said.

The ED had claimed that the investigation revealed that Rajiv was the beneficial owner of M/s Interstellar Technologies Ltd, Mauritius.

"Both these companies received proceeds of crime in their respective Dubai bank accounts from M/s Interstellar Technologies Ltd. Mauritius. It was also revealed that Shivani Saxena and Rajiv Saxena have remitted/transferred huge amount of money through their companies at Dubai to various other accounts," the ED had said.

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(Published 30 January 2019, 16:24 IST)

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