Congress MP Karti Chidambaram appears before ED in visa issuance money laundering case

Congress Member of Parliament Karti Chidambaram was summoned and appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday for questioning regarding a money laundering case connected to the issuance of visas to Chinese nationals back in 2011, official sources told PTI.

This case, initiated by the ED, has its roots in a complaint filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

During the session, the agency recorded the statement of the 52-year-old MP from Sivaganga Lok Sabha seat in Tamil Nadu, operating under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Previously, Karti had labelled the ED's investigation as a "fishing and roving" enquiry. He cited previous document submissions to the agency and requested additional time to gather further evidence, having skipped previous appearances on December 12 and December 16.

The CBI had conducted raids at the residences of the Chidambaram family last year and arrested S Bhaskararaman, a close associate of Chidambaram.

This particular ED case revolves around allegations of Rs 50 lakh being exchanged as kickbacks to Karti and Bhaskararaman by a senior executive of the Vedanta group's company, Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd. (TSPL). The payment was reportedly linked to the reissuance of project visas for Chinese workers involved in a power plant project in Punjab, as outlined in the CBI's FIR.

The project, executed by a Chinese company, was reportedly facing delays, prompting a TSPL executive to seek the reissuance of project visas for 263 Chinese workers, where the alleged exchange of money occurred, based on the CBI FIR.

The FIR further alleges that Bhaskararaman was approached by Vikas Makharia, then associate vice president of TSPL, for the reissue of these visas for workers at the Mansa-based power plant.

It's claimed in the FIR that Makharia approached Karti through Bhaskararaman, described as his "close associate/frontman."

The FIR also alleges a back-door method was devised to bypass visa limits, allowing for the reuse of project visas allocated to the Chinese company's officials, contrary to the guidelines established during P Chidambaram's tenure as the home minister.

Karti has previously called this case a "harassment and witch hunt against him" and emphasized his certainty that he never facilitated any Chinese national in their visa process, dismissing the claim of facilitating 250 individuals.

This isn't the first case of alleged money laundering against Karti; the INX Media and Aircel-Maxis cases have been under ED investigation for some time now.