Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram built a massive empire for himself through investments in real estate and other financial dealings across the world, according to documents recovered in the recent joint raids carried by the Enforcement Directorate and Investigation Wing of Income Tax in relation to the Aircel-Maxis scam.
According to a report in The Daily Pioneer, the documents detail his business deals in 14 countries - London, Dubai, South Africa, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, British Virgin Island, France, USA, Switzerland, Greece and Spain. Karti reportedly acquired a huge amount of wealth through his dealings between 2006-2014, when his father P Chidambaram was the Finance Minister and Home Minister.
The investigation agencies are said to be probing the dealings by Karti's company Advantage Strategic Consulting which was involved in the Aircel-Maxis deal. Most financial transactions were reportedly done by the company's Singapore-based subsidiary Advantage Strategic Consulting Singapore Pte Ltd. These are said to have been carried out by Advantage after the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2006.
The investigative teams will contact the 14 other countries for more information, as per the United Nation's Convention on prevention of money laundering, the report said.
I-T and ED officials swooped down on many firms owned by Karti in December 2015, for allegedly laundering black money through his firms in the Aircel-Maxis case. Officials had raided 12 places, including Karti’s Advantage Strategic Ltd (ED) and Vasan Eye Care (I-I) in Chennai.
The probe team has sent the information to the Supreme Court which is monitoring the investigation in the Aircel Maxis scam. ED and CBI had said in their chargesheets that the FIPB clearances received by Maxis for the Aircel deal by then Finanace Minister P. Chidambaram was illegal.
