A Delhi court on Monday extended the interim protection granted to former Union Minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti in connection with the Aircel-Maxis scam until March 8, PTI reported.
The Enforcement Directorate told the court that that it needs to interrogate Karti Chidambaram on March 5, 6 and 7. The Congress leader and former minister, however, opposed the investigating agency’s request to adjourn the matter.
The case pertains to clearances that the Foreign Investment Promotion Board granted the firm Global Communication Holding Services Ltd for investment in Aircel in 2006. Chidambaram was the finance minister at the time and Karti Chidambaram allegedly facilitated the payment of bribes in the Aircel-Maxis transaction. The Enforcement Directorate, which is investigating a money laundering angle in the case, is inquiring why Chidambaram approved the investment when only the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs can give the green signal for such deals.
On November 26, the Central Bureau of Investigation had informed a court in Delhi that the central government has sanctioned the prosecution of P Chidambaram in the case.
Saradha chit fund case
Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court granted interim protection from arrest for six weeks to Nalini Chidambaram, the former minister’s wife, in the Saradha chit fund scam. The court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation and Nalini Chidambaram to file affidavits supporting their stance.
The Saradha company ran several Ponzi schemes in West Bengal, allegedly defrauding lakhs of people. Thousands of crores of rupees were lost after the scheme collapsed in 2013. After an initial probe by the West Bengal’s Special Investigation Team, the Supreme Court handed over the case to the CBI in 2014.
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