The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint (charge sheet) against Congress leader Karti P. Chidambaram, Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited and others, in connection with an alleged money laundering case.
Among those arraigned under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) provisions are Mr. Chidambaram’s alleged aide S. Bhaskararaman, and Talwandi Sabo Power Limited. A special Delhi court took cognisance of the prosecution complaint on March 19, 2024.
Karti Chidambaram appears before ED in Chinese visa money laundering case
The agency said the case pertains to the allegation that Mr. Chidambaram took an illegal gratification of ₹50 lakh through Mr. Bhaskararaman for getting the approval for reuse of Chinese visas by Talwandi Sabo Power Limited, which was establishing a power project at Mansa, Punjab.
The ED had launched the probe based on a First Information Report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code
“Officials of the company (Talwandi Sabo Power Limited) approached Karti P. Chidambaram for getting the approval for reuse of visas from the Ministry of Home Affairs wherein his father was Home Minister,” the ED said in a statement.
It alleged that the modus operandi adopted in the case was that the company paid ₹50 lakh through cheque to an entry operator in the garb of fictitious services. The entry operator in turn paid ₹50 lakh in cash allegedly to Mr. Bhaskararaman.
“Subsequently, S. Bhaskararaman invested this cash of ₹50 lakh in Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited, a company controlled by Karti P. Chidambaram. The value of ₹50 lakh so invested increased to ₹1.59 crore over a period of time which is the proceeds of crime as per provisions of PMLA,” said the agency.
