Chinese visa scam: Court summons Karti Chidambaram after ED chargesheet

A Delhi court on Tuesday summoned Congress MP Karti Chidambaram and others in a money laundering case linked to an alleged Chinese visa scam.

Special Judge M K Nagpal summoned the accused while taking cognisance of a charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The judge directed Karti Chidambaram, his former chartered accountant S Bhaskararaman and six others, including representatives of a few companies, to appear before the court on April 5.

The accused also include Padam Dugar, Vikas Makharia, Mansoor Siddiqi, Dugar Housing Ltd, Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd and Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd.

The ED has registered a money laundering case against the accused in the alleged scam pertaining to issuance of visa to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011 when his father P Chidambaram was the Union home minister.

The ED said the actual magnitude or volume of the processed or laundered amount of money in the case was yet to be established and the alleged payment of Rs 50 lakh bribe, as mentioned in the CBl case, cannot be considered as the basis of the present case.

The agency registered its case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) taking note of an FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the same case.