A Delhi court on Wednesday granted former Union minister P Chidambaram protection from arrest till June 5 in the Aircel-Maxis money laundering case, ANI reported. He had moved an anticipatory bail petition in the Patiala House Court earlier in the day.
The court sought a reply from the Enforcement Directorate on the plea before the next hearing. It asked P Chidambaram to appear before the agency on June 5, and said no coercive action can be taken against him till then.
Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram is currently under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate in the case, which pertains to clearances granted by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board granted to the firm M/S Global Communication Holding Services Ltd for investment in Aircel in 2006. P Chidambaram was the finance minister then.
Karti Chidambaram allegedly facilitated bribes in the Aircel-Maxis transaction. The investigative agency is looking into “the circumstances” in which P Chidambaram, in his capacity as the finance minister, had granted the Foreign Investment Promotion Board approvals.
INX media case
On Wednesday afternoon, P Chidambaram also filed an anticipatory bail petition in the Delhi High Court in the INX media case, reported ANI. In May 2017, the ED had filed a money laundering case against Karti Chidambaram, INX Media and its directors. Karti’s company allegedly received Rs 10 lakh from INX Media – which had received clearance from the Foreign Exchange Promotion Board for Rs 4 crore in foreign funding, when in fact it had got Rs 305 crore in 2007.
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