Congress leader Karti Chidambaram appears before ED in Chinese visa scam case

Delhi: Congress MP Karti Chidambaram appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Chinese Visa Scam case on Saturday, December 23. This comes after the central agency, ED, issued summons to the Congress leader earlier this month. 

ED is currently probing Karti Chidambaram in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to irregularities in issuance of visas to around 263 Chinese nationals in 2011. The Congress MP has referred to the probe as “fishing and roving”. 

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

The agency will record the statement of the 52-year-old MP from Sivaganga Lok Sabha seat in Tamil Nadu under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).