the goan I network
MAPUSA
Former chief minister and Congress MLA Digambar Kamat on Tuesday appeared before a Mapusa court in the infamous Louis Berger bribery case and furnished a personal bond, even as Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao’s request for exemption was granted by the court. The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for October 11.
The counsel for the Benaulim MLA moved an application for exemption, which was accepted by Judge Vijaya Pol of the Additional Sessions Court.
“Alemao had moved an application seeking exemption to appear stating that he was on a pilgrimage to Vailankanni, for which we did not object,” said Special Public Prosecutor for Enforcement Directorate (ED), G D Kirtani.
“The enforcement directorate had filed complaints against the two,” he added.
The court, however, instructed Alemao to be present at the next hearing on October 11, with a personal bond and an identical surety.
Earlier, Kamat furnished a personal bond of Rs 25,000 and a surety of the same amount in the court.
A court constituted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) had last month issued summons to Kamat and Alemao, asking them to appear in person on August 28 in Mapusa court in the Louis Berger bribery case.
In the meanwhile, Louis Berger, in a statement released through a local PR agency said that the ED’s action was as a result of “improper business activities” investigated and voluntarily reported by Louis Berger to the government of US.
“The company will continue to cooperate with Indian officials, just as was done
in United States,” the statement said.
It may be recalled the ED had attached properties worth Rs 1.95 crore belonging to both the MLAs.
Louis Berger International was charged in a US court with paying bribes for projects in Goa and Guwahati.
The ED registered an enforcement case in August 2015 against ministers in the Goa government in 2010, Louis Berger and others.
The crime branch filed a chargesheet in the bribery case against Alemao and others in September 2015 for
corruption to the tune of Rs 1.95 crore.
