CHENNAI: The Enforcement Directorate on Friday searched several places linked to Dugar Group in Chennai in connection with a money laundering probe into a case of alleged irregularities in issuing visas to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011. ED officials, however, refused to give any details on how the group is linked to the alleged scam in which Congress MP Karti Chidambaram is among those booked.
Some of the properties searched by the ED include Dugar Towers on Marshall’s Road, and Sasi Towers in Nungambakkam. A property linked to Ramesh Dugar, one of the directors of Dugar Group, on Sasi Towers B Block, and seventh floor of Dugar Towers, where the office of Dugar Finance and Investments Limited is located in which Ramesh Dugar is one of the directors, were among the properties searched by the ED. The seventh floor also has offices of Goodworth Properties Private Limited.
An employee told TNIE that the searches started around 10 am. The entire seventh floor has been sealed, he said. Many employees, who were waiting outside, said they were denied entry into the office. The office of Dugar Housing is also located in Dugar Towers.
The ED had initiated a probe into the scam in May and filed a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
‘Karti, aide got Rs 50L as kickback’
As per the CBI FIR, there were allegations that Rs 50 lakh was paid as kickbacks to Karti Chidambaram, son of former Union Minister P Chidambaram and Congress MP from Sivaganga constituency, 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 had raided properties linked to Chidamabram’s family members and arrested Bhaskararaman. Karti Chidambaram had denied the allegations.