ED files charge sheet against PC, Karti in INX Media case
nNEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate has filed a charge sheet against senior Congress leader P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram in connection with its money laundering probe related in INX Media, people familiar with the development told HT.
The charge sheet, they said, was filed on Monday before the court of special CBI judge Ajay Kumar Kumar naming both father and son, alleging they were the beneficial owners of shell firms that were incorporated in India and abroad in connection with a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval given to the INX Media group during Chidambaram’s tenure as the Union finance minister.
P Chidambaram was arrested in October last year in the case. Earlier, he was arrested by the Central Bureau Investigation in August, 2019. Currently both of them are out on bail.
ED alleged earlier during court hearings that “for FIPB approval, Peter and Indrani Mukerjea (then owners of INX) met P Chidambaram so that there was no hold up or delay in their application. P Chidambaram asked for his son’s business interests to be kept in mind. ED identified payments of ~3.09 crore by Peter Mukerjea to ASCPL (Advantage Strategic Consultancy Pvt Ltd) and associated entities controlled by Karti P Chidambaram through manipulated debit notes.”
“Debit notes were raised on the directions of Karti Chidambaram to show some transaction which in fact did not occur,” the agency has alleged. It said the money so received by associated entities was channelled back into ASCPL.
“The funds received by ASCPL were invested and ASCPL also purchased shares of Vasan Health Care. A part of these shares was sold at a profit of nearly ~41 crore. ASCPL also earned ~18.49 crore from sale of shares in another company for an amount of ~29.49 crore. These funds arising from sale of laundered property is also property involved in money laundering,” it has claimed.
The agency had, in February 2019, attached properties worth ~54 crore allegedly belonging to Karti in Spain, the UK and India.
Karti said on Tuesday: “I will not comment until something is served to me formally.”
Chidambaram has denied all the allegations against him and his son Karti and in turn said there is “political vendetta” against the two.
The former Union minister walked out of Tihar jail in December after getting bail from the Supreme Court in connection with the INX Media case.