CBI Raids Karti Chidambaram’s House In 'Bribe-For-Visa' Case

The searches are being conducted at around seven premises!

New Delhi: On Tuesday, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram's home and offices were searched by the CBI over allegations of bribery. Seven premises linked to Karti Chidambaram - the son of former Union Minister P Chidambaram - and his associates were searched across Chennai, Mumbai, Odisha, and Delhi, sources said.

The investigative agency has registered a fresh case against Karti Chidambaram, sources say, accusing him of receiving ? 50 lakh as bribe to facilitate the visa of 250 Chinese nationals for a power project in Punjab between 2010-14.

In the national capital, the CBI searched the 80 Lodhi Estate residence of Mr. Chidambaram this morning. The CBI team questioned the staff present at his house and took some papers with them, sources said.

"There were a total of seven members in the CBI team. Karti Chidambaram was not at his residence during the raid at 7.30 am," said Birbal Singh, the security guard posted at his house.

"I have lost count; how many times has it been? Must be a record," Karti Chidambaram tweeted after news of the raids emerged.

Karti Chidambaram is being investigated in several cases, including the one relating to Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving foreign funds to the tune of ? 305 crore when his father P Chidambaram was the finance minister.

Sources say while investigating the INX media case, the agency found documents linked to the new case involving bribe allegations.

The CBI registered a corruption case on May 15, 2017. Subsequently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a money laundering case. The economic offences watchdog also registered a PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) case based on an FIR registered by the CBI.

Karti Chidambaram was arrested by CBI in February 2018, and he was granted bail after one month in March.