A Delhi court on Thursday granted interim bail to Dubai-based businessman Rajiv Saxena, a co-accused in AgustaWestland chopper scam case. Saxena got interim bail till February 22 from the Patiala House court of Delhi on two bail sureties of Rs 5 lakh each.
Saxena was arrested in a money laundering case related to AgustaWestland scam. The court delivered its judgment after examining a medical report submitted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on him. The court had on Wednesday directed the AIIMS to prepare a report on his medical condition.
The court had also directed the Tihar jail authorities to allow Saxena take necessary medicines and use sleep apnea machine. Saxena was arrested in Dubai last month and had been in custody since January 31. He had been earlier sent to jail till February 18.
In his bail application, Saxena said he was extremely sick with advanced terminal diseases and had coronary heart disease with four stents in his heart. The court took note of his ailment in pronouncing the bail order.
Saxena became the second most important suspect in the AgustaWestland scam case to be brought in from the United Arab Emirates after alleged middleman Christian Michel, who was extradited earlier to India. Saxena is is accused of laundering “proceeds of crime”.
According to people familiar with the development, Saxena is likely to become an approver in the case after having been granted bail. “Only after bail,” said one of the people on Wednesday, when asked about the possibility of him becoming a witness for the Enforcement Directorate which is investigating the money laundering aspect of the Rs 3,600 crore irregularities allegedly linked to the purchase of helicopters from AgustaWestland.
First Published: Feb 14, 2019 12:55 IST
Source: HindustanTimes