ED grills Karti Chidambaram in INX Media case

The Enforcement Directorate questioned Karti Chidambaram, son of Congress senior leader P Chidambaram, for the second time in connection with the INX Media money laundering case. Karti deposed before the investigating officer (IO) as per the scheduled summons.This was the second time he appeared before the ED in this case after he was first grilled by the agency on January 18.

The central agency had earlier summoned Karti Chidambaram on February 2 after which he informed them that he would be unable to depose as he had an interlocutory application pending in the Supreme Court in this case.

The agency had registered a case under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Karti and others in May last year. ED had lodged an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against the accused named in the CBI FIR which included Karti Chidambaram, INX media and its directors, Peter and Indrani Mukerjea, and others.

ED is probing into alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007 when P Chidambaram was the finance minister.

CBI had grilled Karti twice in August last year for allegedly taking money from a INX media then owned by businessman Peter and his wife Indrani with respect to influence public servants in probe into foreign investments in the company from three Mauritius-based entities.

Karti was also confronted with four other suspected accused in the case. The agency had also questioned three suspected associates of Karti—S Bhaskaraman, Ravi Vishwanathan and Mohanan Rakesh— in Delhi and one CBN Reddy in Chennai in connection with the case.

The four suspected accused —CBN Reddy, S Bhaskaraman, Ravi Viswanathan and Mohanan Rakesh — are related to Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd and Chess Management Services Pvt Ltd, both which were allegedly owned by Karti.

They all are linked to the alleged case. It is alleged that Karti received money for using his influence to manipulate a tax probe against it in a case of violation of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) conditions to receive investment from Mauritius.

The pertains to INX Media seeking investment from Mauritius and the investment was allowed by the FIPB with the condition that only Rs 4.62 crore could be received. For the investment in INX News Pvt Ltd, a separate proposal was required. "The company violated the conditions set by the FIPB and received investment to the tune of 26 percent in the capital which included foreign investment. The company generated more than Rs 305 crore of Foreign Direct Investment in INX Media against the approved inflow of Rs 4.62 crore by issuing shares to foreign investors at a premium of more than Rs 800 per share," the FIR stated.