Money laundering case registered against Karti

New Delhi: The ED has registered a money laundering case against Congress MP Karti Chidambaram and others in connection with the alleged irregularities in the issuance of visas to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011, officials said on Wednesday.

The federal agency has filed its case under criminal sections of Prevention of Money Laundering Act taking cognisance of a recent FIR registered by the CBI in the same case, they said.

The 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, the CBI FIR had said.

CBI had raided the premises of the Chidambaram family and arrested Bhaskararaman last week., even as K Chidambaram is expected to depose before it for questioningin view the sensitive nature of their duties.

This is the third money laundering case against Karti with the INX Media and Aircel-Maxis cases being probed by the ED for some years now.