CBI raids Chidambaram: Nation wide search being carried out

The CBI has conducted raids at the residence of former union minister P Chidambaram and his son' house in Chennai. The CBI has raided 16 different locations. The CBI has also conducted raids at Gurgaon, Delhi and Delhi in connection with the same case.

The CBI has registered an FIR in relation to the irregularities Foreign Investment Promotion Board Clearance given to the INX media. It may be recalled that the ED too had probed INX media for forex violations. The CBI raid is a continuation of the investigation done by the Enforcement Directorate which had tracked three transactions done by Karti Chidambaram. Documents pertaining to the same are being searched, the CBI officials said. Further the CBI is also finding out about the Rs 60 lakh that was paid from INX Media to Northstar Software Solutions ltd.

The other transaction was relating to the one made on September 24 2008. This involved a transaction amounting to 20,000 US dollars which was allegedly paid to ASCPL's Singapore subsidiary by INX media. At around the same time another Rs 60 lakh was paid from INX Media to Northstar Software solutions to CBN Reddy.

Search at 16 different locations:

16 different locations and premises connected to Chidambaram, his son Karti and their relatives are being searched. CBI officials said that the raids are being carried out to search for relevant documents in connection with the case. More places would be raided during the course of the day, CBI officials also informed.

It may be recalled that last month a show cause notice had been issued to Karti Chidambaram and a firm linked to him for alleged forex violations to the tune of Rs 45 crore. Karti is also being investigated in connection with the Aircel-Maxis case.

The notice was issued to M/s Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited, its directors and also to Karti P Chidambaram who appears to be the controller and ultimate beneficiary in these transactions,' the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had said in



a statement.

The ED had also carried out searches in the premises of Advantage Strategic Consultants Private Limited and others and issued summons to their directors under Sec 37 of FEMA in August 2016

The seven page letter:

It may be recalled that BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member, Subramanian Swamy had two months back released a seven page letter to the PM detailing the findings in the 200-page IT report. Swamy said the firms owned by Chidambaram's son Karti got kickbacks from many companies which got FIPB clearance.

'The Income Tax which seized the hard disks from Karti's companies found that Chidambaram, wife Nalini Chidambaram, son Karti and his wife Srinidhi, had in 2008 jointly purchased a property and a big palatial house in Cambridge town in UK. As per the seized Income Tax documents, the property bought by Chidambaram and family is at : 5, Holben Close, Cambridge, U.K. CB237AQ. This huge property and home was purchased from Edmund Suley Holt and Heather Holt, and the money for the purchase was drawn from Karti's personal account in London's Metro Bank account number 16714313.

Chidambaram never declared this property in any of his mandatory affidavits as candidate for elections to Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha or as MP or Minister. Karthi also not declared this,' Swamy stated in his letter.

He said Chidambaram only declared the portion of the property in Cambridge in Nalini's name and hide his and son's portions.

The documents unearthed by Income Tax shows that Karti's firm ASCPL received money from many companies when their FDI investment files were with FIPB and CCEA during Chidambaram's tenure as Finance Minister.

'The companies, which transferred money to Karti's ASCPL are Claris Life Sciences, INX Media, Diageo Scotland Limited, which acquired fugitive Vijay Mallya's UB Spirits, Katra Group, Arcelor Mittal-linked Saksoft, and Reflections belonging to Spark Capital Advisory Private Limited,' Swamy had also said.