PANJIM: The Special Court under the Prevention of Corruption Act has directed Crime Branch to issue a public notice in the United States of America (USA) asking former vice president of Louis Berger, James McClung, to appear before the special judge for deposition in the Louis Berger international bribery scandal.
McClung, one of seven persons named in the chargesheet filed in the court, had confessed to the US court of paying a bribe to Goan ministers to win a consultancy for water augmentation and sewerage line system project financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
CB, on behalf of the court, had issued a proclamation last month in Goa, Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Mumbai seeking McClung’s presence for the court hearing. The last hearing was scheduled on September 17, but McClung did not turn up.
When the matter came up for hearing on Friday, Special Judge Irshad Aga directed Investigating Officer Dattaguru Sawant to serve a notice on McClung, this time in the US, and postponed the matter for further hearing on November 23.
It is now left to the government on how to proceed with the fresh direction even as permission from the Ministry is also mandatory for this.
McClung along with Richard Hirsch of the UAE, another former employee of the Louis Berger had pleaded guilty to the bribery charges before the US court and admitted to have paid USD 976,630 for the project during the tenure of the then Congress government.
Meanwhile, on October 19 the local court will hear submissions from the accused in connection with an application by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking to transfer the hearing of the Louis Berger case to the court constituted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Mapusa. The CB had already given its no objection to the transfer of the case hearing.
