New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned senior Congress leader and former finance minister P. Chidambaram for questioning in connection with a money laundering probe related to losses suffered by Air India as part of an alleged multi-crore aviation scam.
Sources said Mr Chidam-baram has been asked to depose before the investigating officer here on August 23. Former civil aviation minister Praful Patel has been questioned by the ED in connection with this case.
The case pertains to the purchase of 48 aircraft from Airbus and 68 from Boeing for around Rs 70,000 crore in 2007.
In December 2005, the then Manmohan Singh Cabinet had approved the deal for 68 aircraft from Boeing Co by Air India. A year later, Indian Airlines signed up to buy 43 planes from Airbus. The two nat-ional carriers were later merged in 2007 to operate under the brand Air India — that too is being probed by the ED and CBI.
Sources said Mr Chidambaram will be asked specific questions pertaining to the decision taken by the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) to purchase 111 aircraft. “The aircraft purchase order was reportedly cleared by an EGoM headed by P. Chidam-baram and the merger was cleared by an EGoM (group of ministers) headed by another senior Cabinet member of the Manmohan Singh government. Both decisions were ratified by the cabinet,” sources said.
