New Delhi: Congress MP Karti Chidambaram has not deposed before the ED for questioning in a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the issuance of visas to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011 and dubbed the case “most bogus”.
The 52-year-old legislator from the Sivaganga Lok Sabha seat in Tamil Nadu was summoned by the central agency to appear this week at its office here and record his statement in the case being probed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The MP is understood to have informed the ED that he was occupied with the ongoing Parliament session.
The 2022 ED case pertains to allegations of Rs 50 lakh being paid as kickbacks to Karti and his close associate S Bhaskararaman by a top executive of Vedanta group company Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd. (TSPL), which was setting up a power plant in Punjab, according to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR.
The money laundering case stems from the CBI complaint.
Karti told PTI that the case was “most bogus” and his legal team will take it forward.
“There are three categories of cases foisted on me: bogus, more bogus and most bogus. This is category three. It will be dealt by my lawyers,” he said.
The CBI had last year raided the premises of the Chidamabram family and arrested Bhaskararaman even as Karti was questioned by it.