Congress leader allegedly sought bribes for mining permits, US says

A Congress member of parliament from Andhra Pradesh has been charged along with four others for  their suspected role in an international corruption scheme, the U.S. Justice Department said.

 K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao,  a member of the Rajya Sabha, and the other defendants participated in a scheme to bribe Indian government officials with nearly 18 million dollars in order to gain access to minerals used to make titanium-based products, prosecutors said.

US prosecutors say they have jurisdiction over the case because the suspects used American financial institutions to transfer the bribes and because the defendants had planned to sell the titanium products to an unnamed American company based in Chicago.

Some of the defendants -Mr Rao was not among them - were also charged with violating the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bars bribes to officials of foreign governments in exchange for business.

Mr Rao, 65, was a confidante of former Congress leader YS Rajasekhara Reddy, who was Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh when he died in a helicopter crash in 2009.

The millions of dollars of kickbacks were allegedly intended to secure licenses for mining which in turn was forecast to generate more than 500 millions dollars annually in the sale of titanium products.

The suspects have been accused of transferring and concealing bribe payments through an international conglomerate of companies.

They have also been accused of using threats and intimidation to advance the interests of the enterprise's illegal activities.

One of the suspects allegedly met with YSR Reddy to discuss the mining project and its progress.

Mr Rao, according to US prosecutors, solicited bribes for himself and others in return for approving licenses for the project.