The United States has requested India through Interpol to provisionally arrest Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP KVP Ramachandra Rao after his indictment in an international money laundering case by a court in that country.
Rao allegedly laundered $18.5 million to bribe officials of Andhra Pradesh and Union Government for clearances for titanium mining in Andhra Pradesh. In a letter sent by National Crime Bureau of the US through Interpol to CBI, the US authorities have said Rao should be put under provisional arrest till all the documents were handed over to India through diplomatic channels, official sources said.
The sources said CBI on its part has forwarded the letter to the Andhra Pradesh Police asking them to take action against Rao, considered a close aide to late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy.
The US also informed CBI that Interpol had already been approached for issuance of Red Corner Notice against Rao, who was charged in the US in an alleged international racketeering conspiracy and channeling funds to the tune of $18.5 million to India.
A US federal five-count indictment charged Rao and five others with one count each of racketeering conspiracy and money laundering and two counts of inter-state travel in aid of racketeering.
Apart from Rao, the others charged are Hungarian businessman Andras Knopp, 75, Suren Gevorgyan, 40 of Ukraine, Gajendra lal, 50, an Indian national and permanent resident of the US who formerly resided in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Periyasamy Sunderalingam, 60, of Sri lanka.
A defendant, Dmitry Firtash 48, a Ukrainian national was arrested on March 12 in Vienna. He is considered to be the mastermind of the conspiracy. In the beginning of 2006, the accused persons allegedly conspired to pay at least $18.5 million in bribes to secure licenses to mine minerals in Andhra Pradesh.
The mining project was expected to generate more than $500 million annually from the sale of titanium products, including sales to unnamed ‘Company A’, headquartered in Chicago.
The indictment seeks forfeiture from all six defendants of more than $10.59 million and alleges that these individuals used US financial institutions to engage in the international transmission of millions of dollars for the purpose of bribing Indian public officials to obtain approval of the necessary licenses for the project.