Chennai/New Delhi: Karti Chidambaram came under the radar of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday when the agency raided premises belonging to him across India for allegedly receiving money from INX Media to scuttle a probe against it when his father was Union finance minister.
The case against Mr Karti, son of former finance minister P. Chidambaram, is that he used his influence in the finance ministry to help INX Media get required Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance by scuttling the probe against it by the I-T department after violations in getting FDI was noticed.
In the FIR, the CBI has levelled charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, taking gratification by corrupt or illegal means, to influence public servant and criminal misconduct.
The agency began its searches at around 8 am — it ended after seven hours — a day after registering a case against INX Media directors Indrani Mukerjea, Peter Mukerjea, Karti Chidambaram, Chess Management Services and Advantage Strategic Consulting Limited through its director Padma Vishwanathan. Mr Karti owns Chess Management Services.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance was given to INX Media in 2007 when Mr Chidambaram was Union Finance Minister. INX Media had run channels like NewsX, which has now changed hands.
Mr Chidambaram's residence in upscale Nungambakkam in Chennai, premises owned by Mr Karti in Chennai and Karaikudi, their native place, and several places in Mumbai, Delhi and Gurugram was the target of the agency that is also probing the role of the father-son duo in Aircel-Maxis case.
Though Mr Chidambaram was in Bengaluru in the Karnataka high court, Karti, his mother Nalini and other family members were inside their residence when the CBI sleuths raided the house. In show of solidarity with Chidambaram and Karti, several leaders of the TNCC gathered outside his residence but the Chennai Police, who stood guard outside, allowed none inside.
Even the legal team of Chidambaram and Ka-rti were not allowed inside the Nungambakkam residence while the raid was on. Every now and then, Karti, sporting a T-shirt and a cap, stepped outside and interacted with the media informally only to cry foul that he and his father were being targeted by the ruling BJP at the Centre. “They have not seized any documents and cannot prove any charges against me. I have not done anything wrong,” Karti asserted.
