New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday issued fresh summons to Karti Chidambaram, son of senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram, for questioning in connection with its money laundering probe pertaining to the INX Media case.
According to sources, the agency has asked Karti to appear before the ED on February 2 for the second round of his questioning in the case. Earlier, the agency questioned Karti on January 18 for over 10 hours in connection with this case.
The ED had registered a money laundering case against the accused named in the CBI complaint including Karti, INX media and its directors, Peter and Indrani Mukerjea, and others. The ED's case was registered under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Karti is alleged to have received Rs 3.5 crore from Mumbai-based INX media for helping it get Foreign Investment Promotion Board's (FIPB) clearance when it was run by the Mukerjeas. The ED, which is probing financial misappropriation in the case, contended that Mukerjeas had allegedly siphoned off 90 million pounds and the money is suspected to have gone to foreign countries through the unauthorised route of hawala.
Following the FIPB clearance, the INX Media said it had received Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) of Rs 46.20 million, but actually received 3,053.60 million between August 2007 and May 2008, sources in the ED alleged. Accordingly, this excess foreign exchange equivalent to Rs 3,004.40 million, beyond the disclosed the permitted foreign investment, was allegedly received by INX Media from three Mauritius-based investors, they added.
The CBI had earlier filed an FIR against Karti Chidambaram and the Mukerjeas. It was alleged that Karti had received money from INX Media for using his influence to manipulate a tax probe against it in a case of violation of FIPB conditions to receive investment from Mauritius. Former Union minister P Chidambaram had alleged that the government was using the CBI and other agencies to target his son.
