Charges on Devyani Khobragade
Devyani Khobragade was charged on December 11, 2013, by a Special Agent with the United States Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service. The charge alleges that Khobragade committed Visa Fraud willfully and under penalty of perjury under Title 28, United States Code, Section 1746. It further alleges that Khobragade submitted an employment contract to the U.S. Department of State, in support of a visa application filed by Khobragade for another individual, which she knew to contain materially false and fraudulent statements[16].
Under the verbal agreement in India, it is alleged, Khobragade agreed to pay a starting salary of 25,000 rupees per month, plus an additional 5,000 rupees for overtime. Based on exchange rate at that time 30,000 rupees is equivalent to $573.07 U.S. dollars[16] which at 40 hours per week equates to a rate of $3.31 per hour.
In the visa application form submitted on October 15, 2012, however, Khobragade made a statement that she would be paying Sangeeta around $4,500 per month, the complaint says.[16]
Also Khobragade executed a contract with Sangeeta Richard which stipulated her hourly salary in the U.S. would be $9.75 and that the normal working hours per week shall be 40. This contract was submitted to the U.S. government as part of the visa application. Khobragade also instructed her not to say anything to the embassy interviewer about being paid 30,000 rupees per month.[16]
It is alleged that shortly before departing to the airport in India, Khobragade asked Richard to sign another employment contract, which was not to be revealed to the U.S. government.[17] As per this contract she was to be paid an expected salary of Rs. 30,000 per month.[16]
Arrest
Based on the charges filed by by a Special Agent with the United States Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, the United States Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman issued an arrest warrant against Khobragade. Khobragade was arrested in New York on December 12, 2013 by United States Marshals after she dropped her daughter at school[18].
She was later handcuffed; strip searched, which allegedly included a cavity search[19] and confined with other prisoners after her detention. Khobragade was detained for six hours and released on a $250,000 bond after pleading not guilty and surrendering her passport.[2][3][5][6]
Reactions
United States
On December 18, 2013, John Kerry expressed regret over the arrest and strip-search of the Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade and empathised as a father of two daughters at similar age as Khobragade. [20]
Manhattan federal prosecutor Preet Bharara whose office had filed the charges,[21][22] defended the handling of the arrest and custody, though his office was not involved. He claimed that Khobragade was accorded courtesies well beyond what other defendants, most of whom are American citizens, are accorded. [17]
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