New Delhi: The Rouse Avenue Court will give its order on Congress MP Karti Chidambaram’s anticipatory bail plea today in connection to a money laundering case related to a Visa scam case. The special CBI court reserved the order on Monday for June 3. Until the order was given, Karti Chidambaram was protected from an arrest.
On Monday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told a special CBI court that Karti’s bail plea was ‘premature’.
The ED filed a case on Karti Chidambaram alleging money laundering based on a case filed by CBI which accuses him of receiving illegal gratification of Rs 50 lakh to illegally facilitate visas for 263 Chinese nationals’ to complete a power project in Punjab, news agency ANI reported.
As per a report by ANI, Karti ‘misused his influence’ in the Home Ministry in 2011 and ‘conspired’ with co-accused to devise a “back-door way to defeat the purpose of the ceiling” on work permits imposed by the Ministry, CBI has alleged. However, P Chidambaram, who was Home Minister in 2011 has not been named in the case.
Meanwhile, Karti Chidambaram issued a statement claiming that he is not associated with any visa scam.
“I have no relationship whatsoever with any of the corporate entities mentioned in the FIR in which I have been named as an accused. I’m neither aware of them, nor have I ever been associated with them or any of their representatives in any manner. I say with certainty that I have never facilitated even a single Chinese national in their visa process, let alone 250,” the statement read.
It further added, "I have no relationship whatsoever with any of the corporate entities mentioned in the FIR in which I have been named as an accused. I’m neither aware of them, nor have I ever been associated with them or any of their representatives in any manner. I say with certainty that I have never facilitated even a single Chinese national in their visa process, let alone 250.”