The Hindu : New Delhi News : Court frames charges against Chandraswami

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 27, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Court frames charges against Chandraswami

Staff Reporter

`He received dollars from four persons in Surinam'

NEW DELHI : A Delhi court on Saturday framed charges against self-styled godman Chandraswami in three separate cases registered under the (now defunct) Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) in 1996-97.

Framing the charges for receiving dollars without the prior permission of the Reserve of Bank India (RBI), Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kamini Lau said there was sufficient material on recordand fixed December 4 and January 8 for recording of evidence in the three cases.

The case of the Enforcement Directorate is that Chandraswami had received $2 lakhs, $1.5 lakhs and $50,000 from four persons in Surinam in 1980.

Counsel for the Enforcement Directorate, A.K. Wali, along with N. K. Matta,submitted thatthe receipt was in violation of various provisions.Counsel further submitted that the accused had transferred $2 lakh to Magi International of socialite Bina Ramani, who is facing probe by the Delhi police for alleged destruction of evidence in the Jessica Lal murder case.

Chandraswami withdrew $78,000 from Magi International and invested it in a property in New York.He later transferred the remaining $1.22 lakh to another concern through Bina Ramani.The Directorate is prosecuting Chandraswami in 10 cases of FERA violation.

The Delhi High Court is also seized of an application by Chandraswami seeking permission to go abroad to "meet his friends and disciples." The Central Bureau of Investigation has opposed his application saying that the petitioner was facing trial in 10 complaints under FERA.

Besides these, he was also facing prosecution for offences under Sections 120-B (conspiracy) read with 408 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under various Sections of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 1976, for which charges had been framed, CBI submitted.

In addition to the above-mentioned cases, the petitioner's role and involvement in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was being investigated, the investigating agency said.

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