British Man Extradited on AgustaWestland Bribery Charges Appeals Additional Forgery Count in Indian Supreme Court

Christian Michel, a 64-year-old British man, has been held without trial in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail since his 2018 extradition from the United Arab Emirates. He faces charges of bribing Indian officials to secure a multimillion-pound AgustaWestland helicopter contract signed in 2010. Michel denies the bribery allegation.

India added a second charge of forgery of valuable security after his arrival. That offence carries a possible life sentence. Section 21 of India’s Extradition Act prohibits new charges after extradition unless the person commits a fresh offence on Indian soil.

An Indian High Court ruled that Article 17 of the India-UAE Treaty permits “connected offences” to be added. Michel’s appeal is scheduled for the Supreme Court of India in July 2026. ” Alois Michel said: “All my father has ever asked for is exactly what India is promising Nirav Modi right now.

3 billion, has been in custody in London since 2019. His extradition was approved in March 2026 and is under appeal at the European Court of Human Rights. In those proceedings, Rakesh Pandey, joint secretary at India’s ministry of home affairs, gave an undertaking that Modi would not face trial for offences outside the extradition request without British consent.

A March 2026 judgment by Justices Jeremy Stuart-Smith and Robert Jay of the High Court of England and Wales noted that Michel’s treatment had already been examined in an earlier case, Bhandari. The judgment stated that the Government of India “rests its case entirely on the quality of the assurances that it has given” for Modi.

Michel’s family is scheduled to meet Foreign Office minister Seema Malhotra before the July hearing.

A Foreign Office spokesman said the UK Government “is committed to seeing Christian Michel’s case resolved as soon as possible” and continues to provide consular assistance while raising the matter directly with Indian authorities. Michel has now been detained longer than the maximum sentence for the original corruption charge.