Mumbai: Karti Chidambaram son of Congress leader P Chidambaram has been allowed to travel abroad by SC with strict rules and regulation, where he has been ordered to deposit 10 crores before his travel.
Court had also ordered that if Karti does not cooperate with SC they might be forced to take necessary steps against him.
Speaking on his travel, Chief Justice of Indian Ranjan Gogoi said that, “You can go wherever you want, can do whatever you want but don’t play around the law, if there is a sign of non-cooperation we will come down heavily.”
As per reports Karti has not been cooperative with the investigation process and the court has warned him that not an inch of non-cooperation would help.
Chidambaram is alleged to be involved in Aircel-Maxis and Sequoia Capital case. The CBI investigated the role of former finance minister P Chidambaram in the takeover of telecom operator Aircel by Maxis. The investigating body found out that the finance minister and ministry’s secretary were to clear investment of up to Rs 6 billion. Maxis’ investment in Aircel at the time was Rs. 30 billion. Thus, the ministry and FIPB had the legal hand to clear the investment
In April 2015, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched the Bengaluru offices of Sequoia Capital India, the Indian subdivision of a Mauritius-based investment fund, in connection with a probe of Vasan Healthcare Group, which was partly owned by Karti Chidambaram. Sequoia was suspected of abusing India’s foreign direct investment policy.
It was reported on 25 August 2015, that the ED had summoned two directors of Advantage, Vishwanath Ravi and C.B.N. Reddy, for questioning in Delhi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. They were interrogated in connection with the Aircel-Maxis case, a corruption scandal that had begun with a 2011 complaint by the owner of Aircel, a communications firm, who said he had been pressured to sell his stake in his company to Maxis, a data firm. The ED said it would later be summoning Karti Chidambaram himself in connection with the case.
In February 2018, Karti Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI in a money laundering case, where he was accused of receiving Rs. 1 million money from a media company for using his influence to manipulate a tax probe against it.
In October 2018, the Enforcement Directorate said it has attached assets worth Rs. 54 crore of Karti Chidambaram in India, Spain, and the UK in connection with a money laundering case related to INX Media, an action termed “bizarre and outlandish” by him.
