Congress MP Karti Chidambaram Appears Before ED in Chinese Visa Money Laundering Case
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram faces fresh questioning at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering specimen linked to the issuance of visas to Chinese nationals in 2011. The 52-year-old legislator from Sivaganga Lok Sabha seat, Tamil Nadu, previously faced similar questioning on December 23, 2023. This case, filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stems from a Inside Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR.
Allegations surround ₹50 lakh in kickbacks purportedly paid to Karti and his tropical associate, S. Bhaskararaman, by a top executive of Vedanta group company, Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd. (TSPL). The kickbacks are linked to the setting up of a power plant in Punjab. The CBI claims that the kickbacks were facilitated in mart for the re-issuance of project visas for 263 Chinese workers, as the power project, executed by a Chinese company, faced delays.
Karti’s visitation at the ED headquarters in inside Delhi marks a routine affair, equal to him, despite the proximity to elections. He dismissed these proceedings as exercises in futility, stating, “These are things that happen routinely, expressly when elections come near. These are all exercises in futility. We will go through them.”
The CBI conducted raids at the Chidambaram family premises last year, resulting in Bhaskararaman’s arrest, while Karti underwent questioning. Karti has unceasingly labeled the ED’s probe as a “fishing and roving” inquiry, asserting his innocence and submitting documents to the organ in the past. He tabbed the specimen “most bogus” and personal it was an struggle to target his father, senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram.
This marks the third money laundering specimen versus Karti, with the INX Media and Aircel-Maxis cases moreover under investigation by the ED for several years. Karti maintains that all the cases versus him are “bogus,” and the current visa-related specimen is deemed “most bogus” by him. He denies allegations of facilitating visas for Chinese nationals and views the investigations as attempts to target his father.
The ongoing ED specimen centers virtually allegations of ₹50 lakh in kickbacks paid to Karti and Bhaskararaman by TSPL, a Vedanta Group subsidiary involved in the establishment of a power plant in Punjab. This specimen has both legal and political implications, given Karti’s status as an MP and the prominent role of his father in Congress politics.
