Chennai: Reacting to CBI informing the Supreme Court that he was being probed in the Aircel-Maxis deal, former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Tuesday that the agency had recorded statements from all officers involved in the decision making, all of whom have affirmed that the approval to the deal was accorded in normal course of business.
In a statement issued here, Mr. Chidambaram said the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), after taking into account the face value of the foreign investment, submitted the case to the Finance Minister and sought approval.
“As FM, I granted approval in the normal course of business. CBI has recorded statements from every official who dealt with the case. Everyone, including the then Secretary and the Additional Secretary, has affirmed that the case was rightly submitted to the Finance Minister, who was the competent authority to grant approval and that approval was granted in the normal course of business,” the senior Congress leader said.
The CBI had recorded a statement from Chidambaram in 2014 on the case. His remarks come a day after the Supreme Court asked the CBI to file status report on the probe being carried out on various aspects of the Aircel-Maxis deal.
