PANAJI

The court, on Tuesday, issued summons to James McClung, former top executive of the US-headquartered firm Louis Berger, who had confessed to having paid bribes to ministers in Goa.

McClung had claimed to have paid bribes to former Goa chief minister Digambar Kamat and some others to win consultancy for a water augmentation and sewerage line system project, to be implemented through a funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Principal Sessions Judge, North Goa, Irshad Agha,  ordered McClung to appear on September 17 at 10 am to answer the charge sheet against him.

The court directed Goa Crime Branch’s investigating officer inspector Dattaguru Sawant to serve notice to McClung.

“It has been shown to my satisfaction that McClung, who is a resident of Washington DC, has absconded or is concealing himself to avoid the service of the summons,” the court said.

McClung and Richard Hirsch of the UAE, both former employees of Louis Berger, had pleaded guilty to a bribery charge before a court in the US.

They had admitted to have paid USD 976,630 in bribe for the Goa project.