The arrest of Karti Chidambaram, the son of former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, on Wednesday morning by the CBI in Chennai, hardly minutes after he landed from England, throws up several disturbing questions. This is for his alleged involvement in the INX media money laundering case. He was later brought before the Patiala House Court in Delhi.
The arrest of Karti Chidambaram, the son of former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, on Wednesday morning by the CBI in Chennai, hardly minutes after he landed from England, throws up several disturbing questions. This is for his alleged involvement in the INX media money laundering case. He was later brought before the Patiala House Court in Delhi.
You may construe it as “bizarre” as Karti’s laywer Abishek Manu Singhvi has described, or it could lead to one of the most sensational revelations in which former Finance Minister himself could be at the receiving end, both literally and figuratively.
As I have been in this journalistic sphere for the past close to 40 years, I am afraid of even hazarding a guess.
When 2G spectrum case in which former Telecom Minister A.Raja was the main accused along with DMK patriarch M.Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi,, could ultimately end in favour of the accused, though it was touted to be a close and shut case, any sober journalist will have to wait and watch for the things to unfold in the current case also.
In order to spruce up the memory of my readers, I will have to mention that this is a crime supposed to have been committed in 2007 (11 years ago).
The CBI had filed an FIR in May, 2017 alleging irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to IUNX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007. During that time, P Chidambaram was the Union finance minister.
INX Media, once owned by Peter and Indrani Mukherjea, was acquired by Zee Entertainment Exterprises in October 2017 for Rs 160 crore. The company was renamed as 9X Media as part of a restructuring process.
The original owners -Peter and Indrani remain the prime suspects in the money laundering case.
Karti Chidambaram is connected to the INX Media bribery case regarding various clearances given to the company. According to CBI, INX Media showed a transaction of Rs 10 lakh named against Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd, a firm which is indirectly owned by Karti Chidambaram, as management consultancy charges towards a FIPB notification and clarification.
The CBI alleged that Karti Chidambaram took money from INX Media and used his influence and power to manipulate a tax probe against the company regarding a case of violation of FIPB conditions to get an investment from Mauritius.
CBI also filed an FIR against Karti Chidambaram and Mukherjeas for criminal conspiracy, influencing public servants, criminal misconduct, cheating and receiving illegal gratification.
Sources within the CBI claim that Karti was destroying evidence during his visit to the United Kingdom. A special team of officers from the CBI's Chennai unit was waiting for him at the city's airport where Karti Chidamabaram landed today.
The CBI suspects that he received Rs. 3.5 crore through a company linked to him and a fresh case will be filed against him. While he was being taken to court, Karti Chidambaram told reporters, "This is vendetta, I will be vindicated".
He has now been sent to CBI custody for a day by a court in Delhi. The CBI had sought 15-day custody.
The CBI's remand application in Karti's arrest has alleged that former Finance Minhister, met with Peter Mukherjee and Indrani Mukherjee in Delhi, and told the Mukherjees to help his son's ( Kartik Chidambaram’s) business.
At a meeting of Karti Chidambaram and the Mukherjees, a demand for illegal gratification of $1 million was made, in connection with the INX Media case, the documents add.
Thus the former Finance Minister himself has been named in the CBI's remand letter.
The relevant portions of the CBI submissions state:
"In their statements before ED, Peter Mukherjee and Indrani Mukherjee admitted that they met P Chidambaram in his office in North Block where P Chidambaram told them to help the business of his son Karti, and to make foreign remittances for this purpose. They further admitted to having met Karti Chidambaram in Hotel Hyatt in Delhi where a demand for illegal gratification of $1 million was made. It was further admitted that Karti Chidambaram suggested the names of Chess Management and Advantage Strategic as alternatives to make payments."
"This was also stated by Indrani Mukherjee in statements recorded before a Magistrate under Section 164 of the Cr.P.C where she confirmed payment of $700,000 abroad."
While the CBI maintained that Karti was arrested for not cooperating with the investigation, Karti’s lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi called the case against him "motivated" and "bizarre".
The CBI contended that Karti’s custody was important as his frequent absence from the country was hampering the investigation.
“Karti was arrested for not cooperating with investigations. There are many things which we cannot disclose in the open court. We need 15 days of remand of Karti Chidambaram. He was not cooperating and frequently visiting abroad," said CBI's counsel.
Singhvi rubbished the charge and said there was no question of not cooperating with the probe as not a single summons had been issued in the last six months. "Karti has no connection with Advantage Strategic Consulting (P) Limited, the company that had allegedly received kickbacks,” said Singhvi.
The primary reasons for which the CBI demanded the custody of Chidambaram was to investigate the entire conspiracy, discover the payments made overseas and payments received by Chidambaram and to understand how the probe against INX media got hampered.
However Karti maintained that he had "nothing to fear as he has nothing to hide." "I have gone abroad but I have come back also. Don't use power of arrest. I will surrender my passport and will take any condition and I will appear whenever summoned," Karti told the court.
However, CBI said that Karti has only appeared in India after the SC order and that he "did not provide details of his foreign visits." "Karti has not produced the itinerary of his foreign visits. Karti left country without complying with directions. The matter is pending before HC. He didn't inform us when he left the country," said CBI.
CBI also stated that Karti had met a person at Mumbai’s Hyatt Hotel on February 17 to arrange one million dollars to settle the INX Media case, among other set of allegations.
Karti called it a “distortion of facts”. “I went abroad only after getting permission from the Supreme Court. Forget remand, it is not a case of even arrest. Not even a single official has been questioned over FIPB clearance to INX," he said.
“My client has not been given a single summon in the last 6 months. How can the CBI submit that Karti is not cooperating when no summon has been issued after August, 2017," his lawyer Singhvi argued.