Congress MP Karti Chidambaram has refrained from appearing before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in connection with a money laundering investigation related to alleged irregularities in the issuance of visas to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011. He dismisses the case as “most bogus.”
The 52-year-old lawmaker from the Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu was summoned by the central agency to present himself at its office this week and provide his statement in the case under investigation using the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The MP is understood to have informed the ED that he was occupied with the ongoing Parliament session.
The ED initiated the 2022 case based on accusations of Rs 50 lakh being paid as kickbacks to Karti and his close associate S Bhaskararaman by a top executive of Vedanta group company Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd. (TSPL), involved in establishing a power plant in Punjab, according to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR. The money laundering case originated from the CBI complaint.
Karti denounces the case as “most bogus” and asserts that his legal team will handle it. He categorizes the cases against him as “bogus, more bogus, and most bogus,” with this particular case falling into the third category.
The CBI had conducted raids on the premises of the Chidambaram family last year, leading to the arrest of Bhaskararaman while Karti underwent questioning. According to CBI charges, the power project, executed by a Chinese company, was behind schedule, leading to a TSPL executive seeking re-issuance of project visas for 263 Chinese workers, allegedly involving a Rs 50 lakh exchange, as per the CBI FIR.
The CBI contends that Bhaskararaman, a close associate of Karti, was approached by Vikas Makharia, the then associate vice president of TSPL, for the reissue of project visas. Karti dismisses the case as a “harassment and witch hunt” against him, suggesting it is an attempt to target his father, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram.
Karti insists that he has never facilitated the visa process for a single Chinese national, let alone 250. This marks the third money laundering case against Karti, with the ED investigating the INX Media and Aircel-Maxis cases for several years.
