Karti says no ‘illegal’ assets abroad, dares govt to seize if any

Denying he held undisclosed assets abroad, Karti Chidambaram, the son of former Union finance minister P Chidambaram, told the Supreme Court on Monday that the Centre should disclose any overseas assets held by him or his family and seize them.

“My father, mother, wife, and myself are income tax payees. If the government or its agencies can tell we have these properties, we will execute decrees in their favour and the government can take their possession,” Karti Chidambaram told a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra.

Senior counsel Kapil Sibal told the bench that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was levelling “reckless and wild allegations” and that nothing had emerged during the course of his client Karti’s questioning that pointed to the existence of undiscovered overseas properties owned by the family. Sibal said this as Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, produced in a sealed cover what he said were details of properties linked to Karti. He said information about these had surfaced during the course of his questioning.

Sibal said the CBI could not place before the court the documents without filing a separate FIR. He said the CBI could only produce documents relating to the case in respect of which a lookout notice was issued to ensure Karti did not leave the country.

Mehta told the court that he would establish that the details of all the assets submitted in the sealed cover were linked to the matter under investigation.