Straw Donor

Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal on 18 April 2014 pleaded guilty at a US court for violating federal election laws by using straw donors. A straw donor is someone who illegally uses someone else's money to make campaign contributions in his or her own name. He pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York to conspiring to violate the Federal Election Campaign Act (the 'Election Act') by making more than USD 180000 in federal campaign donations to three candidates through straw donors who were reimbursed and to witness tampering. For Instance, Chatwal had raised at least 100000 US dollars for former secretary of state Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign against Barack Obama. He was freed on a 750000 US dollars bond secured by property in Manhattan. He will be convicted on 31 July 2014. Chatwal could face a maximum of six years in prison. Sant Singh Chatwal is an Indian-American businessman. He heads the chain of the Hampshire Hotels and Bombay Palace chain of restaurants. Chatwal was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2006 for his role in the India-US civilian nuclear deal. This led to a public controversy based on allegations of malfeasance leveled against Chatwal. The Government of India has since upheld its award decision.