Congress leader Karti Chidambaram granted bail in Chinese Visa Scam

Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court granted regular bail to Congress leader Karti P Chidambaram on Thursday, June 6, in a money laundering case linked to an alleged Chinese visa scam. The scam case dates back to 2011, when visas were allegedly issued improperly to 263 Chinese nationals. This occurred during the tenure of P Chidambaram, Karti P Chidambaram's father, as Union Home Minister.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had initiated the money laundering case against Karti Chidambaram and three others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), following a First Information Report (FIR) by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The investigation is ongoing, with the precise amount of laundered money still to be determined. The ED has indicated that the alleged ₹50 lakh bribe mentioned in the CBI case does not serve as the primary basis for their current case.

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Previously, interim bail was granted to three other accused in the case—S Bhaskararaman (Chidambaram's former chartered accountant), Vikas Makharia, and Mansoor Siddiqi—on personal bonds of ₹1 lakh each by Special Judge Kaveri Baweja in April.

The development comes after Chidambaram secured an electoral victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He defeated AIADMK's Xavierdass by a margin of 2 lakh votes to secure the Sivaganga constituency in Tamil Nadu. Chidambaram garnered a total of 4,27,677 votes.

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