Goa seeks letter rogatory to get Louis Berger confession

The Goa Police will work to get a letter rogatory to secure the statement of a former Louis Berger official who has admitted to bribing Goan politicians to win a major water and sewage project.

A senior official said the Crime Branch will go for the "letter rogatory route" to secure the statement of the company's former senior vice president, James McClung.

A letter rogatory is a formal request made to a foreign court for judicial assistance, which also includes recording of evidence on foreign soil.

McClung has reportedly admitted to the company allegedly bribing Goa's ruling politicians in 2010 to seal a multi-billion dollar management project.

The Crime Branch on Tuesday quizzed former public works department minister Churchill Alemao and summoned, for a second time, former chief minister Digambar Kamat, both of whom are linked to the bribery case.

A Crime Branch official said the statement of McClung, via letter rogatory, would help make the investigation water-tight.

"McClung, who has confessed to the New Jersey District Court about paying the bribe, will be critical evidence," the official said on the condition of anonymity.

He said the ministry of external affairs would be approached through the Goa government to process the request for letter rogatory.

Top officials of Louis Berger have already pleaded guilty in a New Jersey District Court to offering bribes of $3.9 million to secure contracts in countries such as India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Kuwait.

While the settlement announced by the US Justice Department did not identify the politicians and officials offered bribes, documents revealed that $976,630 was paid in 2009-10 to a Goa minister and others.

Louis Berger was part of a consortium that won a contract to execute a multi-billion dollar water and sewerage project in Goa worth Rs.1,031 crore.

The project was funded by the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), which was cleared in 2010 by a Congress-led coalition government.

McClung was the senior vice president of the India region for Louis Berger when the bribes were allegedly paid, according to the observations made by the US court.

The Crime Branch team has already recorded statements of former Indian officials of the consultancy firm about the alleged bribes paid to Kamat as well as Alemao in 2010 to win the JICA contract.

A spokesperson for Louis Berger said the officials whose statements had already been recorded had parted ways with the firm in 2012.

"They are not current employees, so we are not aware of any proceedings that they may be engaged (in)," the spokespersons said.