ED registers a money laundering case against Congress MP Karti Chidambaram and others in the Chinese visa scam in 2011 which Karti denies.
The Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case against Congress MP Karti Chidambaram and others in the alleged scam pertaining to the distribution of visas to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011. In 2011, Karti’s father P. Chidambaram was the Home Minister.
The federal agency has filed its case under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) taking cognizance of a recent first information report by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the same case.
The CBI FIR had said, the case pertains to allegations of 50 lakh rupees being paid as a bribe to Karti and his close associate S. Bhaskararaman by a top executive of a company, which was setting up a power plant in Punjab.
Karti Chidambaram has denied all allegations
Karti Chidambaram has denied all allegations. Kari said a statement posted on his Twitter handle on Tuesday, “If this is not harassment, not a witch hunt, then what is.” “I have full faith in the judiciary of our great country and trust the institution to stand by the truth. It does not intimidate me that the central government is once again using its agencies to accuse me of a malicious and completely fabricated charge,” he said.
He also said, “Previously, the agencies have gone after me based on the statement of an undertrial murder suspect. Now, they are basing their bogus charges on the alleged actions of a deceased person, whom I have never met. I intend to continue to fight every one of their motivated attempts to target my father through me,” the Congress MP said.
He said he was “certain that he never facilitated even a single Chinese national in their visa process, let alone 250.” According to the CBI, the work for setting up the power project was being executed by a Chinese company and was running behind schedule. A TSPL executive had sought re-issuance of project visas for 263 Chinese workers for which Rs 50 lakh allegedly exchanged hands, according to the CBI FIR.
Of note, Indrani Mukherjea testified against Karti’s father, Mr. P. Chidambaram and he was named in a charge sheet filed where Indrani (a criminal in jail for the murder of her daughter) was an “approver” in the case. Mr. P Chidambaram was freed after 106 days in jail for an INX Media money laundering case, which had no substantial evidence against him. Indrani Mukerjea is presently out on bail.