‘Bribe for visa’ case: ED files chargesheet against Congress MP Karti Chidambaram

When contacted, Karti, who is the son of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, did not comment on the matter. Karti had earlier called the ED probe a “fishing and roving” enquiry, and denied that he had facilitated visas for any Chinese national.

The ED case is based on a CBI FIR registered against Karti in May 2022. The FIR is based on allegations that Karti accepted a bribe of Rs 50 lakh from the Vedanta Group to facilitate visas for about 300 Chinese nationals of a company working in collaboration with a Vedanta subsidiary for a power project in Punjab.

Apart from Karti, the ED chargesheet is also learnt to have arraigned his alleged associate and chartered accountant S Bhaskararaman, who was arrested by the CBI in May 2022.

The CBI FIR had named Bhaskararaman, M/s Talwandi Sabo Power Limited, Mansa (Punjab), Vikas Makharia, a Talwandi Sabo representative, and M/s Bell Tools Limited, Mumbai.

According to the CBI, Talwandi Sabo, a subsidiary of Vedanta Group, was in the process of setting up a 1,980-MW thermal power plant at Mansa and the job to establish the plant was outsourced to a Chinese company, M/s Shandong Electric Power Construction Corp (SEPCO), as EPC contractor.

However, as the project was running behind schedule, Talwandi Sabo tried to bring more Chinese professionals to their site at Mansa in order to avoid penal action for delay. For this, it needed project visas over and above the ceiling imposed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the CBI alleged in its FIR.

The CBI case is based on a reference sent by the ED in 2018. The ED had claimed that during its probe against the Chidambarams in the INX Media case, it had found evidence that a company, allegedly associated with Karti, was offered Rs 50 lakh by the Vedanta group to facilitate visas for about 300 Chinese nationals when Chidambaram was the home minister.

The ED’s assertions were reportedly based on emails retrieved from the hard disk of Bhaskararaman’s laptop. “…one Shri Vikas Makharia of Vedanta group offered a sum of Rs 50 lakh to ASCPL (Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd) in return for grant of visas. This offer was made vide email dated 27.08.2011… Bhaskararaman. This was followed by another email dated 02.09.2011, where Sh Makharia thanked Shri S Bhaskararaman for grant of visas by the Ministry of Home Affairs to Talwandi Sabo Power Limited,” the ED had said.

It had attached copies of the emails mentioned, and a copy of P Chidambaram’s statement that he gave to the agency on August 28.

Though not arraigned as accused, the CBI FIR has said the bribes were paid after Bhaskararaman had a discussion with Chidambaram senior about Vedanta’s requirements. It has also said that Chidambaram was on Vedanta’s board and his son had taken financial favours from a Vedanta subsidiary.