*Paromita Das
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Karti Chidambaram, the Lok Sabha MP and son of former finance minister P Chidambaram, on Tuesday in a new ‘bribe-for-visa’ case involving Chinese nationals.
According to officials, Karti Chidambaram was charged by the CBI in 2011 for allegedly facilitating visas for 250 Chinese nationals in exchange for an illegal bribe of Rs 50 lakh.
The CBI conducted searches in ten different cities, including Karti Chidambaram’s homes in Chennai and Delhi. The searches are taking place in three locations in Chennai, three in Mumbai, and one each in Delhi, Karnataka, Punjab, and Odisha, according to CBI officials.
Karti Chidambaram, the Lok Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu’s Sivaganga constituency, is already embroiled in financial irregularities cases, including the INX media case.
Karti Chidambaram’s new bribe-for-visa case is an offshoot of an ongoing investigation, according to the CBI. During the UPA regime, Karti Chidambaram allegedly received Rs 50 lakh as a bribe to facilitate visas for 250 Chinese nationals, according to the Central Agency. The visas were issued to Chinese workers for the Talwandi Sabo power project in July-August 2011, during P Chidambaram’s tenure as Union Home Minister.
According to reports, the Chinese firm that was awarded the establishment contract for the power project in Punjab was behind schedule and needed more manpower. However, there was a limit on the number of work permits granted to foreign nationals.
According to officials, the Chinese firm approached Karti Chidambaram, who allegedly used his influence to facilitate the visas in violation of the imposed ceiling.
The CBI became aware of the case while investigating Karti Chidambaram for obtaining Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval for the INX media and Aircel Maxis cases, they said.
The CBI became aware of the case while investigating Karti Chidambaram for obtaining Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval for the INX media and Aircel Maxis cases, they said.
Following an examination of the transactions, the CBI discovered payments totaling Rs 50 lakh that are alleged to be illegal gratification for facilitating the visas of Chinese workers who were supposed to work at the plant, according to officials.
Karti Chidambaram is also being investigated in CBI cases, including one filed on May 15, 2017, alleging irregularities in a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to INX Media Group for receiving Rs 305 crore in overseas funds in 2007, during P Chidambaram’s tenure as Union Finance Minister.
Following that, the ED filed a money laundering case. Based on the CBI’s FIR, the economic offenses watchdog filed a PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) case, alleging that irregularities occurred in the FIPB clearance to INX media.
Chidambarams respond
In response to the incident, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram stated that the “CBI team found and seized nothing.”
“A CBI team searched my Chennai home and my official residence in Delhi this morning. The team showed me a FIR in which I am not named as a defendant. Nothing was discovered or seized by the search team. I’d like to point out that the timing of the search is intriguing “he tweeted about it.
P Chidambaram questioned the raid’s timing, saying it came at a bad time for Karti.
Meanwhile, Karti, his son, stated: “I’ve lost count of how many times this has happened. It has to be a record, “Karti took to twitter shortly after the raids were announced.
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