On May 17, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted raids at multiple locations, both residential and commercial, linked to Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, the son of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram. Reports suggest a fresh case has been filed against Chidambaram for allegedly facilitating visas for Chinese nationals in exchange for illegal gratification worth Rs 50 lakh.
The Chinese nationals were supposed to work on a project in Punjab. Around nine locations spread over Mumbai, Odisha, Chennai, Karnataka, and Punjab are being raided.
Chidambaram and others have been accused of facilitating around over 250 visas during UPA-2. The new case is believed to be an off-shoot of the ongoing probes against him. Republic quoted a guard identified as Birbal Singh at P Chidambaram’s residence. He said seven CBI officials had arrived in the morning and inquired about Karti Chidambaram. Notably, P Chidambaram handled portfolios like Home and Finance during UPA-2.
Ongoing cases against Karti Chidambaram
Several agencies are probing cases against Karti Chidambaram. In February 2018, he was arrested by CBI in the INX media case. An FIR was registered in May 2017, where CBI had alleged there were irregularities in Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to INX media for foreign funds worth Rs 305 crore.
Indrani Mukerjea, owner and founder of INX media, had alleged that one of Karti Chidambaram’s companies benefitted in exchange for the approval. P Chidambaram had spent over 100 days in custody in a money laundering case filed by Enforcement Directorate (ED) based on FIR by CBI. The father-son duo were also named as accused in Aircel Maxim Scam.