New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday attached properties worth Rs 742.58 crore allegedly belonging to former communications minister Dayanidhi Maran, his businessman brother Kalanithi and other family members in connection with its money laundering probe into the controversial Aircel-Maxis deal case. The Aircel-Maxis deal had taken place during Dayanidhi Maran’s tenure in the Sanchar Bhawan.
Sources said the agency issued the attachment order under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Amongst the assets attached are a huge amount of fixed deposits (FDs) and mutual funds held largely by his brother and Sun TV MD Kalanithi. Some assets of Mr Kalanithi’s wife have also been attached.
“The individual assets include FDs held by Mr Dayanidhi and others worth Rs 7.47 crore, FD worth Rs 100 crore and mutual funds worth Rs 2.78 crore held by Kalanithi. His wife’s FDs worth Rs 1.30 crore and mutual funds of Rs 1.78 crore were also put under attachment”, sources said.
An official order said “that illegal gratification of Rs 742.58 crore was paid by the companies based in Mauritius for Dayanidhi in the two companies namely Ms Sun Direct TV Pvt Ltd (SDTPL) and Ms South Asia FM Ltd (SAFL). These two companies are owned and controlled by Mr Kalanithi. The money has been utilised by the companies in their business or investments.
Besides, land and building owned by private firm Kal Comm Private Limited (Rs 171.55 crores), free hold land and building owned by private firm Sun Network TV Pvt. Ltd (Rs. 266 crore) and shares of SDTPL held by Kalanithi Maran (Rs. 139 crores), have also been attached by the agency. An attachment order under PMLA can be challenged by the affected party before the Adjudicating Authority of the said Act within a time period of 120 days.
“Investigation under PMLA revealed that promoters of the SDTPL are Kalanithi and Mrs. Kaveri Kalanithi. These two persons are holding 80 per cent shares of SDTPL. The shareholders of SAFL are Ms Sun TV Network Limited (60 per cent) and 20 per cent each are Ms AH Multisoft Pvt Ltd and Ms South Asia Multimedia Technologies Ltd Mauritius”, said the order.
The ED probe found that “Kalanithi is holding 75 per cent shares of Ms Sun TV Network Limited and both Kalanithi and his wife have 90 per cent and 10 per cent shareholding respectively in a company Ms Kal Comm Pvt Ltd, order said. ED had registered its criminal case in this deal in 2012 taking cognisance of an earlier CBI FIR.
The CBI had alleged in the court that Dayanidhi had “pressured” and “forced” Chennai—based telecom promoter C Sivasankaran to sell his stakes in Aircel and two subsidiary firms to Malaysian firm Maxis Group in 2006. Sources said the agency is now expected to file its chargesheet in this case after the questioning of other foreign-based suspects in the case. “Some replies to ED’s judicial requests sent abroad are awaited in the case,” they said.
