P Chidambaram summoned by Enforcement Directorate in INX Media Case, reaches ED headquarter

The senior Congress leader and his son have come under the scanner of investigating agencies in the Rs. 3,500-crore Aircel-Maxis deal and the INX Media case involving Rs. 305 crore.

Mr Chidambaram and his son Karti, who have been granted further protection from assert till January 11, made the allegations in their replies to ED's application seeking time to advance arguments on their anticipatory bail pleas. ED had claimed that it wanted to place "newly received evidence" in the case before the court./ P Chidambaram with his son Karti. Image: File photo

NEW DELHI: Former Union minister P Chidambaram, an accused in the Aircel-Maxis case, on Wednesday arrived at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) headquarter after he was summoned by ED in INX Media Case. The senior Congress leader and his son have come under the scanner of investigating agencies in the Rs. 3,500-crore Aircel-Maxis deal and the INX Media case involving Rs. 305 crore. Earlier, he had alleged in a Delhi court that the Enforcement Directorate was sensationalising the case and damaging his reputation. Mr Chidambaram and his son Karti, who have been granted further protection from assert till January 11, made the allegations in their replies to ED's application seeking time to advance arguments on their anticipatory bail pleas. ED had claimed that it wanted to place "newly received evidence" in the case before the court. The case relates to alleged irregularities in grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval in Aircel-Maxis deal and is being probed by the CBI.In a separate case, the ED is investigating the money laundering aspect of the alleged offence. In its chargesheet filed earlier in the case against former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi Maran and others, the CBI had alleged that P Chidambaram granted FIPB approval in March 2006 to Mauritius-based Global Communication Services Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary of Maxis. The Maran brothers and the other accused named in the CBI charge sheet were discharged by the special court, which said the agency had failed to produce any material against them to proceed with the trial. The ED is also probing a separate money-laundering case in the Aircel-Maxis matter, in which P Chidambaram and Karti have been questioned by the agency and currently their anticipatory bail is pending.