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Tag: Karti Chidambaram

  • Visa scam: Probe reveals involvement of Karti Chidambaram, ED tells HC

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate has opposed the anticipatory bail plea by Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram in the alleged Chinese visas scam, saying that the investigation so far has revealed his involvement in the present offence which endangers national security for financial gains.

    In its July 11 status report, the agency stated that success in an interrogation would elude if the accused knows that he is protected and the grant of anticipatory bail in economic offences would definitely hamper an effective investigation.

    The agency informed that the investigation is still in its preliminary stages and shall be prejudiced if details are disclosed at this stage as Karti is a sitting member of Parliament and highly influential and urged that the status of the probe be perused from the case record.

    “The present offence of endangering national security for financial gains to the detriment of the general public of the country is severe Economic offence having a detrimental impact on the economy and the society,” ED said adding that Karti is a flight risk and allegedly has criminal antecedents.

    “The investigation conducted so far reveals the involvement of the applicant. The investigation is at a preliminary and crucial stage and the findings of the investigation if presented in open court may prejudice the investigation by the department. It is, therefore, requested that the current status of the investigation may be perused by the court from the case record,” said the status report.

    “The investigation being conducted by the department is still in its preliminary stages and if the same is disclosed at this stage, the investigation by the department shall be prejudiced, the Applicant being a sitting member of Parliament and a highly influential individual,” it added.

    ED has registered the money laundering case against Karti and others in the alleged scam about the issuance of a visa to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011 when his father P Chidambaram was the home minister.

    Justice Poonam A Bamba, on Tuesday, listed Karti’s anticipatory bail plea for hearing on August 18 after the counsel for Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed that Additional Solicitor General SV Raju was not available.

    The investigating agency orally said that its earlier assurance concerning no coercive action against Karti would extend till the next date.

    On June 12, ED had orally assured the high court that no coercive action would be taken against him till July 12.

    Karti, represented by lawyer Arshdeep Singh, had approached the high court after his anticipatory bail plea and that of two others was dismissed by the trial court on June 3 on the ground that the offence was of a very serious nature.

    In the status report, ED also said that the ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report) in the case cannot be given to Karti as it is an internal document and there is no requirement in law to provide the same and that the apprehension of arrest is unfounded at this stage.

    It further stated that Karti is a flight risk and has criminal antecedents as around four criminal cases are pending against him, which are being investigated by both CBI and ED.

    “The apprehension of the arrest of the Applicant is unfounded as, as also stated by the Applicant that the ECIR was recorded only in 25.05.2022 and investigation by the Respondent is still at a very preliminary stage. Further, the mere fact that the Applicant’s role was not detailed in the FIR does not mean that the Applicant is not guilty of the offence of Money Laundering. The offence of Money Laundering is a long drawn out and complicated process involving various stages,” the report said.

    “Success in such interrogation would elude if the accused knows that he is protected by the order of the court. Grant of anticipatory bail, particularly in economic offences would definitely hamper the effective investigation,” it further argued.

    ED also emphasised that “in recent times several high profile individuals having deep roots and respect in the society have left the country /to evade the process of law in India”.

    The agency added that the offence of money laundering is still ongoing and Karti can influence witnesses and tamper with evidence.

    “The Applicant has been and continues to be a Member of Parliament from Tamil Nadu. The Applicant’s father has been a Union Minister for around ten years including having charge of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the nodal ministry for the CBI, and also the Ministry of Finance, the nodal ministry for the present Agency, which itself gives rise to the apprehension of the likelihood of influencing of witnesses and tampering of evidence,” the status report said.

    ED also denied the allegation of political vendetta and mala fide, calling them “totally bald averments”.

    ED has earlier said that the actual magnitude or volume of the processed or laundered amount of money in the case was yet to be established during the investigation and the bribe amount of Rs 50 lakh in the CBl case cannot be taken or considered as the basis of the present case.

    The agency has registered its case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) taking cognisance of a recent first information report by the CBI in the same case.

  • CBI searches Karti Chidambaram’s Chennai house in Chinese visa case

    By IANS

    NEW DELHI: In the latest development in the Chinese visa case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday conducted searches at the residence of Congress MP Karti Chidambaram in Chennai and recovered some incriminating documents from there.

    A CBI source said that when the probe agency conducted searches at the residence of Karti Chidambaram in May, a portion of the house had to be sealed as the keys were with the Congress MP’s wife, who was reportedly out of the country then.

    “Today, Karti Chidambaram’s wife joined the probe and we opened this portion of the house. We have recovered some incriminating evidence and documents,” said the source.

    According to the CBI FIR, in 2011, a Mansa (Punjab) based private firm, Talwandi Sabo Power Limited, took the help of a middleman and allegedly paid Rs 50 lakh to get visas issued to Chinse nationals to help get a project completed before the deadline.

    “The private firm was in the process of establishing a 1,980 MW thermal power plant which was outsourced to a Chinese company. The project was running behind its schedule. In order to avoid penal actions for the delay, the said private company was trying to bring more and more Chinese professionals to its site in Mansa district. For this it needed project visas over and above the ceiling imposed by the Ministry of Home Affairs,” said a CBI official.

    The official said that for the said purpose, the representative of the private firm approached a person in Chennai through his close associate and thereafter they devised a back-door ploy to get permission to re-use 263 project visas allotted to the said Chinese company’s officials.

    In pursuance of the same, the said representative of the Mansa-based company submitted a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs seeking approval to re-use the project visas allotted to the company, which was approved within a month and permission was issued to the firm.

    “A bribe of Rs 50 lakh was allegedly demanded by the said private person based in Chennai through his close associate which was paid by the Mansa-based company. The payment of the said bribe was routed from Mansa to the person in Chennai and his close associate through a Mumbai-based company, reportedly controlled by Karti Chidambaram, as payment of false invoice raised for consultancy and out-of-pocket expenses for Chinese visa-related works,” said the CBI official.

    Karti Chidambaram’s father P. Chidambaram was the Union Home Minister then.

  • CBI questions Karti Chidambaram in ‘bribe-for-visa’ case for 3rd consecutive day

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The CBI questioned Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram for the third consecutive day on Saturday in connection with its probe into the alleged Rs 50-lakh bribery for issuance of 263 project visas to Chinese workers involved in the construction of the Talwandi Sabo power project in 2011, officials said.

    He arrived at the CBI headquarters early in the morning to face the investigation team. The questioning is likely to continue throughout the day with a lunch break, they said. The CBI is questioning Karti Chidambaram since Thursday in the 11-year old case which the Congress leader has termed as “most bogus” and a result of “political vendetta”.

    The case is of 2011 when his father P Chidambaram was the Union Home Minister. The CBI had registered an FIR on May 14 against Karti and others over allegations of a Rs 50-lakh bribe being paid to him and his close associate S Bhaskararaman by a top executive of Vedanta group company Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd (TSPL) for re-issuance of Project Visa for 263 Chinese workers, the CBI FIR said.

    TSPL was setting up a power plant in Punjab. Projects visas were a special type of visas introduced in 2010 for the power and steel sector, detailed guidelines for which were issued during P Chidambaram’s tenure as Union home minister. However, there was no provision for re-issue of project visas, the FIR has alleged. The agency has already arrested Bhaskararaman in connection with the case.

  • Chinese Visa bribery case: CBI questions Congress MP Karti Chidambaram for nearly nine hours

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The CBI on Thursday questioned Congress MP Karti Chidambaram for nine hours in connection with an alleged scam pertaining to the issuance of visas to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011 when his father P Chidambaram was home minister, officials said.

    A special court had ordered Karti to join the CBI investigation within 16 hours of his arrival from the UK and Europe, where he had gone with the permission of the Supreme Court and the special court. The MP returned from his trip on Wednesday, and arrived at the CBI office around 8 this morning to answer questions related to the case.

    Speaking to reporters outside the CBI headquarters, Karti said the case against him was “bogus”, and claimed that he had not facilitated the issuance of visa to any Chinese national. He was allowed to go for a recess for about an hour in afternoon after which the questioning resumed.

    The MP was quizzed till about 6 pm. Coming out of the intense questioning, Karti Chidambaram said it all was a political vendetta, and that he would depose again if the agencies call him.

    The CBI FIR said that the case pertains to the allegations of Rs 50 lakh being paid as bribe to Karti and his close associate S Bhaskararaman by a top executive of Vedanta group company Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd. (TSPL), which was setting up a power plant in Punjab, for re-issuance of project visas for 263 Chinese workers of a firm company which was executing the project.

    The agency has already taken Bhaskararaman in custody in connection with the case. Karti Chidambaram has denied all allegations, saying “if this is not harassment, not a witch-hunt, then what is”. Officials said that the CBI has alleged Makharia, a representative of the power company, approached Karti through his “close associate/front man” Bhaskararaman.

    “They devised a back-door way to defeat the purpose of ceiling (maximum of Project visas permissible to the company’s plant) by granting permission to re-use 263 Project visas allotted to the said Chinese company’s officials,” Joshi said.

    Makharia allegedly submitted a letter to the home ministry seeking approval to re-use the project visas allotted to this company, which was approved within a month and permission was granted to the company, the officials said.

    It has been further alleged that the payment of the said bribe was routed from Talwandi Sabo to Karti and Bhaskararaman through Mumbai-based Bell Tools Ltd camouflaged as payment of false invoice raised for consultancy and out of pocket expenses for Chinese visas related works, the CBI FIR said.

    “…Whereas the private company based at Mumbai was never in any kind of work relating to visas rather it was in an entirely different business of industrial knives,” Joshi said.

  • Karti Chidambaram appears before CBI in visa scam case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress MP Karti Chidambaram reached the CBI headquarters on Thursday to join the investigation into an alleged scam pertaining to the issuance of visas to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011 when his father P Chidambaram was the home minister, officials said.

    A special court had ordered him to join the CBI investigation within 16 hours of his arrival from the UK and Europe, where he had gone with the permission of the Supreme Court and the special court itself.

    The MP returned from his trip on Wednesday. He arrived at the CBI office on Thursday morning to answer questions related to the case.

    Speaking to reporters outside the CBI headquarters, Karti said the case against him was “bogus”, and claimed that he had not facilitated the issuance of visa to any Chinese national.

    The case pertains to allegations of Rs 50 lakh being paid as bribe to Karti and his close associate S Bhaskararaman by a top executive of Vedanta group company Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd.

    (TSPL), which was setting up a power plant in Punjab, for re-issuance of project visas for 263 Chinese workers employed there, the CBI FIR said. The agency has already taken Bhaskararaman in custody in connection with the case.

    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 the project visas for 263 Chinese workers for which Rs 50 lakh allegedly exchanged hands, according to the CBI FIR.

    Karti Chidambaram has denied all allegations, saying “if this is not harassment, not a witch hunt, then what is.”

  • Chinese visa scam: ED registers money laundering case against Karti Chidambaram, others

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The ED has registered a money laundering case against Congress MP Karti Chidambaram and others in the alleged scam pertaining to the issuance of visa to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011 when his father P Chidambaram was the home minister, officials said on Wednesday.

    The federal agency has filed its case under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) taking cognisance of a recent first information report by the CBI in the same case, they said.

    The case pertains to allegations of Rs 50 lakh being paid as bribe to Karti and his close associate S Bhaskararaman by a top executive of Vedanta group company Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd. (TSPL), which was setting a power plant in Punjab, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR had said.

    The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will probe the possible “proceeds of crime” that could have been generated due to the alleged illegal activity, they said. The accused will be questioned as part of the investigation, they said. Karti Chidambaram has denied all allegations and said “if this is not harassment, not a witch hunt, then what is.”

  • Visa scam case: Karti Chidambaram likely to appear before CBI on May 25

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress MP Karti Chidambaram is likely to appear before the CBI on Wednesday to join the investigation into an alleged scam pertaining to the issuance of visa to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011 when his father P Chidambaram was the home minister, officials said.

    Karti, who has gone on a trip to the UK and Europe with the permission of the Supreme Court and a special CBI court, is scheduled to return on Tuesday.

    According to the special CBI court’s order, he has to join the CBI investigation within 16 hours of his return.

    The case pertains to allegations of Rs 50 lakh being paid as bribe to Karti and his close associate S Bhaskararaman by a top executive of Vedanta group company Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd. (TSPL), which was setting a power plant in Punjab, the CBI FIR said.

    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 visa for 263 Chinese workers for which Rs 50 lakh allegedly exchanged hands, according to the CBI FIR.

    Karti Chidambaram has denied all allegations and said ” if this is not harassment, not a witch hunt, then what is.”

    In a statement issued on Tuesday, he said, “I am heading back home today, as was planned when I left 2 weeks ago for a work/ family-visit trip to UK and Europe. 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.”

    “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,” he said.

    The MP said, “For what it’s worth, however, I firmly state that I am not associated with this visa issue directly, indirectly, vicariously or even telepathically! The allegations against me by the CBI are ludicrous, to say the least. I categorically deny all of them.”

    The agency has alleged that Bhaskararaman was approached by Vikas Makharia, the then associate vice president of TSPL, for the reissue of project visas for 263 Chinese workers working at the Mansa-based power plant.

    The CBI FIR, which contains the findings of the investigating officer who probed the PE, has alleged that Makharia approached Karti through his “close associate/front man” Bhaskararaman, the officials said.

    “They devised a back-door way to defeat the purpose of ceiling (maximum of project visas permissible to the company’s plant) by granting permission to reuse 263 project visas allotted to the said Chinese company’s officials,” it was alleged.

    Project visas were a special type of visa introduced in 2010 for the power and steel sector for which detailed guidelines were issued during P Chidambaram’s tenure as the home minister but there was no provision of reissue of project visas, the FIR alleged.

    “As per prevalent guidelines, deviation in rare and exceptional cases could be considered and granted only with the approval of the home secretary. However, in view of the above circumstances, the deviation in terms of reuse of project visas is likely to be approved by the then Home Minister…,” it further alleged.

    The CBI in its FIR on May 14 has named as accused Karti, Bhaskararaman, Makharia, Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL), and Mumbai-based Bell Tools Limited through which bribes were allegedly routed.

    The case was registered under IPC sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 477A(falsification of accounts) and sections 8 and 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, they said.

    Makharia allegedly submitted a letter to the home ministry on July 30, 2011, seeking approval to reuse the project visas allotted to his company, which was approved within a month and permission was issued, the officials said.

    It alleged that the payment of the bribe was routed from TSPL to Karti and Bhaskararaman through Mumbai-based Bell Tools Ltd with payments camouflaged under two invoices raised for consultancy and out-of-pocket expenses for works related to visas for the Chinese workers.

    Makharia had later thanked Karti and Bhaskararaman on email, it added.

  • CBI arrests S Bhaskararaman, close associate of Karti Chidambaram, in Rs 50 lakh bribery case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The CBI on Wednesday arrested S Bhaskararaman, a close associate of Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram, in connection with a Rs 50 lakh alleged bribery case for clearing visas of 263 Chinese nationals working at Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd in Punjab, officials said.

    The bribery incident is reported to have taken place in 2011 when Karti Chidambaram’s father P Chidambaram was the Union home minister.

    The CBI took Bhaskararaman for questioning late Tuesday night and he was placed under arrest in the early hours of Wednesday, the officials said.

    The agency has alleged that Bhaskaraman was approached by Vikas Makharia, the then associate vice president of Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd (TSPL), for the reissue of project visas for 263 Chinese workers working at the Mansa-based power plant which was in the process of being set up.

    The CBI FIR, which contains a findings of the investigating officer who probed the PE, has alleged that Makharia approached Karti through his “close associate/front man” Bhaskararaman, the officials said.

    “They devised a back-door way to defeat the purpose of ceiling (maximum of project visas permissible to the company’s plant) by granting permission to reuse 263 project visas allotted to the said Chinese company’s officials,” they said.

    Project visas were a special type of visa introduced in 2010 for the power and steel sector for which detailed guidelines were issued during P Chidambaram’s tenure as the home minister but there was no provision of reissue of project visas, the FIR alleged.

    “As per prevalent guidelines, deviation in rare and exceptional cases could be considered and granted only with the approval of the Home Secretary. However, in view of the above circumstances, the deviation in terms of reuse of project visas is likely to be approved by the then Home Minister,” it further alleged.

    Makharia allegedly submitted a letter to the Home Ministry on July 30, 2011, seeking approval to reuse the project visas allotted to his company, which was approved within a month and permission was issued, the officials said.

    “On August 17, 2011, Makharia, on being directed by Bhaskararaman, sent a copy of the above letter dated July 30, 2011 to him through e-mail which was forwarded to Karti. Bhakaskararaman after discussion with P Chidambaram, the then Home Minister, demanded an illegal gratification of Rs 50 lakh for ensuring the approval,” the FIR alleged.

    It alleged that the payment of the said bribe was routed from TSPL to Karti and Bhaskararaman through Mumbai-based Bell Tools Ltd with payments camouflaged under two invoices raised for consultancy and out of pocket expenses for Chinese visas related works.

    Makharia had later thanked Karti and Bhaskararaman on email, it added.

  • CBI conducts multiple raids at P Chidambaram, son Karti residential, official premises

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at multiple residential and official premises of the Lok Sabha MP of Congress Karti Chidambaram and his father and former Union Minister P Chidambaram across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Sivagangai in Tamil Nadu.

    In Delhi, the CBI searched the 80 Lodhi Estate residence of Karti Chidambaram on Tuesday morning.

    “The CBI is conducting searches at multiple locations (residence and office) of Karti Chidambaram, in connection with an ongoing case”, said his office.

    There were total seven members in the CBI team. Karti Chidambaram was not at his residence during the raid at 7.30 am, said Birbal Singh, the security guard posted at Karti Chidambaram’s house.

    ALSO READ: CBI books Karti Chidambaram for facilitating visa of Chinese nationals for illegal gratification

    The CBI team questioned the staff present at Karti Chidambaram’s Delhi house and took some papers with them.

    Meanwhile, searches are being conducted in multiple residential and official premises of Chidambaram across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Sivagangai in Tamil Nadu.

    “I have lost count,” tweeted Congress leader Karti Chidambaram while reacting to CBI searches at his premises.

    According to sources, three places are being raided in Mumbai while two each in Chennai and Sivaganga, his Parliamentary constituency.

    Karti Chidambaram is being probed in cases registered by the CBI, including the case lodged on May 15, 2017 over irregularities in a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to INX Media group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007 during P Chidambaram’s tenure as the Union Finance Minister.

    Thereafter, the ED had also lodged a money laundering case. The economic offences watchdog had registered a PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) case based on FIR by the CBI and alleged that irregularities took place in the FIPB clearance to INX media. (ANI)

  • CBI books Karti Chidambaram for facilitating visa of Chinese nationals for illegal gratification

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The CBI has filed a fresh case against Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram, son of former finance minister P Chidambaram, for allegedly facilitating visa of 250 Chinese nationals after receiving illegal gratification of Rs 50 lakh, officials said on Tuesday.

    The CBI on Tuesday morning started coordinated search operations at nine locations in multiple cities in the country, including Karti Chidambaram’s residence in Chennai, they said.

    The searches are being conducted at three locations in Chennai, three in Mumbai, one each in Karnataka, Punjab and Odisha, they added.

    “I have lost count, how many times has it been? Must be a record,” Karti tweeted without specifying.

    In the new case which is off shoot of an ongoing probe, the CBI has alleged that Karti Chidambaram had received Rs 50 lakh alleged bribe to facilitate visa of 250 Chinese nationals during the UPA regime, the officials said.

    He is already under probe in getting Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance for INX media, they said.