The sources also said though Mr. Michel, in his interview to The Hindu, claimed he had written a letter to the Prime Minister last year, the ED had not received any. “His claim that some official from the Indian embassy in the United Arab Emirates had recently contacted him over phone is also false, we checked,” said a senior ED official familiar with the case.

“The Interpol Red Notice is not issued in a day. All necessary legal requirements have to be met. After Mr. Michel’s name figured during the probe, summons was issued against him. However, he neither turned up nor gave any response. Therefore, we moved court and got a non-bailable warrant against him,” said the official.

He said Mr. Michel, otherwise a very frequent visitor to India between 1997 and February 2013, had another opportunity to share his version in the open court last year when the ED sought the warrant against him. “However, he did not put forth any contention. When his assets were attached provisionally, he again had the opportunity to present his case before the adjudicating authority,” said the official.

According to immigration records, the accused flew into India nearly 300 times between 1997 and 2013, mostly on the pretext of pilgrimage.

Based on the findings of the ED and the CBI and the court warrant, the Interpol issued the Red Notice against Mr. Michel in the last week of November 2015.

“Instead of contacting the case investigation officer, he has been giving interviews in the media claiming innocence. However, the Italian court judgment demolishes the theory floated by him. He also said that he wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office last year. We have not received any such letter. He should have written to the agencies which are probing allegations against him,” said the official.