It looks like the political vendetta has strike once again on the two strong politicians of south Goa Digambar Kamat and Churchill Alemao with the ED (Enforcement Directorate) issuing the attachment order of the properties worth 1.95 crores belonging to both the MLAs.
The clouds of Louise Berger case are still circling around the kismet of Digamber Kamat and Churchill Alemao and the outcome of it, is the attachments of the assets worth Rs 1.95 crore of two former chief ministers of Goa, Digambar Kamat and Churchill Alemao by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday in connection with its money laundering probe into the Louis Berger bribery case.
Digamber Kamat who is one of the senior and most powerful Congress legislatures from the south Goa is facing the charges of accepting the bribes worth 1 million US Dollars from the Louise Berger and money laundering cases together and accordant to the sources, the ED have attached following properties in the possession of Kamat. The ED attached a plot of land measuring 4047 square feet situated at Gogal belonging to Mr. Kamat and a residential building at Taligao and fixed deposits of Rs 41.35 lakh with a cumulative worth of Rs 1.22 crore. The ED also attached an apartment of Alemao at Fatrade of Varca village with a 2009 registered sale value of Rs 75 lakh in 2009.
Louis Berger a New Jersey-based construction management firms having their offices in India are facing the criminal proceedings for bribing Indian officials for several crores of rupees to win the contracts of two major water development projects in Goa and in Guwahati respectively. According to the news source from PTI “A New Jersey-based construction management firm has been charged with bribing Indian officials several crores of rupees to win two major water developmental projects in Goa and in Guwahati, The bribery of $976,630 for a Goa project by Louis Berger included payments to a minister, details of which have not been disclosed by the US Department of Justice”.
The ED had taken over a probe into the case following a corruption case registered by the Goa police in July 2015 where it was alleged that the officials of Louis Berger, a US-based firm, bribed Indian officials to win consultancy for a water augmentation and sewerage project in Goa. The project was funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The ED said Louis Berger had admitted violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). “It (the company) agreed to pay a penalty of $17.1 million to resolve charges that it bribed foreign officials,” said the ED. The matter pertains to the tenure of Digambar Kamat as the Goa chief minister and Alemao was his PWD minister.
