NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Tuesday framed charges of criminal conspiracy against Congress MP Karti Chidambaram and other accused in the Chinese visa ‘scam’ case.The next hearing in the matter has been scheduled for January 16.The case is being heard at Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court, which also framed charges against Karti Chidambaram’s close aide Bhaskar Raman in connection with the alleged offence.The enforcement directorate (ED) has alleged that Chidambaram received a Rs 50 lakh bribe to facilitate approval for the reuse of visas for Chinese personnel, sought by a company involved in setting up a power plant in Punjab. The agency registered a money laundering case in connection with the alleged issuance of visas to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011, when Karti’s father P Chidambaram was the Union home minister.Chidambaram has consistently denied the allegations and earlier described the ED probe as a “fishing and roving” inquiry. He has maintained that he provided all required documents to the agency, termed the case “bogus”, and said he never assisted any Chinese nationals in obtaining visas.
