Devyani enjoys no immunity: US

block

Reuters, New York :Devyani Khobragade, the Indian diplomat whose December arrest led to a major international dispute, holds no immunity from US prosecution and should continue to faces charges of visa fraud, Manhattan federal prosecutors said in court papers filed on Friday.Khobragade was arrested on December 12 on charges that she lied to US authorities about what she paid her housekeeper. She was stripped-searched while detained in Manhattan federal courthouse, which led to a diplomatic firestorm between India and the United States that continued for weeks.Manhattan US attorney Preet Bharara’s office argues in the court filings that Khobragade is a former diplomat and not immune from prosecution.Khobragade “currently enjoys no diplomatic status, and at the time of her arrest, the defendant’s position as a consular official gave her immunity from prosecution for official acts only,” assistant US attorneys Kristy Greenberg and Amanda Kramer wrote.

block