AgustaWestland scam: Delhi High Court rejects ED's plea to cancel Gautam Khaitan's bail

The Delhi High Court on Monday rejected a plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to cancel the bail granted to Delhi-based lawyer Gautam Khaitan in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam money laundering case.

Justice Neena Bansal Krishna passed the order dismissing the plea filed by the ED in 2021.

In its plea, ED had challenged the trial court's order of March 2021, rejecting its prayers to set aside the bail granted to Khaitan.

A detailed order is awaited.

The AgustaWestland scam case is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED.

As per the allegations, bribes were paid during the then UPA government to middlemen in buying 12 helicopters at an estimated cost of ₹3,600 crore. When the NDA came to power in 2104, the deal was scrapped the a probe started against several people.

Khaitan is a Delhi-based lawyer and businessman who has been implicated in the case. The ED has alleged that he laundered proceeds from this deal and held undisclosed foreign bank accounts.

The agency stated that Khaitan was actively involved in laundering illicit funds and claims that his legal practice was used as a front for money laundering. 

Special Counsel Zoheb Hossain with advocates Vivek Gurnani, Kartik Sabharwal, Pranjal Tripathi and Kunal Kochar appeared for the ED.

Senior Advocates Siddharth Luthra and Madhav Khurana with advocates Ramadity Tiwari, Roopa Dayal and Subham Jindal represented Gautam Khaitan.