NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has received the sanction of prosecution against senior Congress leader and former Union finance minister P Chidambaram in two separate money laundering cases related to the Aircel-Maxis and INX Media deals, the agency said on Thursday, adding that it has filed the sanction before the court to expedite the trial.
Both the Aircel-Maxis and INX Media deals took place during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, when Chidambaram was finance minister. The ED filed chargesheets in the Aircel-Maxis case in 2018 and in the INX Media case in 2020, naming the Congress commander-in-chief in each. The court reviewed the indictment in 2021.
The courts stayed the trial in both cases due to lack of sanction of prosecution under Section 197(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CRPC) – now Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Act.
Through a November 2024 ruling, the Supreme Court also mandated the ED to take advance sanction under the provision allowing any court to peruse the charge sheet. This provision previously applied only to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CEO said that after numerous appeals were filed by the defendants, he was proactively seeking to impose sanctions on the public officials. Accordingly, a sentence was sought for Chidambaram to stand trial in both the cases. He added that it was obtained from the competent authority on February 10.
The prosecution penalty order has been submitted to the Special Court, Rouse Avenue, by the ED to expedite trial in both the cases, the agency said.
Chidambaram did not respond to HT’s request for comment.
In the Aircel-Maxis deal, Chidambaram was named as accused No. 6 while in the INX Media investigation, he was called as accused No. 1.
The ED alleged that the former Finance Minister granted Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval to Aircel-Maxis instead of swap, as the foreign investor (Maxis) applied for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) approval worth up to $800 million ( $3,565.91 Crores). The authority responsible for this approval was the Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs.
“However, as part of a larger conspiracy, approval was fraudulently and dishonestly granted by the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram on March 20, 2006 who was competent to consider and approve FDI proposals involving total investment $“Rs 600 crore or less,” the ED said.
The agency added that its investigation found that the gratification was illegal $Chidambaram’s son and Congress legislator Karti Chidambaram received Rs 1.16 lakh crore in his two companies – Advantage Strategy Consulting Pvt Ltd (ASCPL) and Chess Management Services.
In the INX Media case, the CEO filed two pages of accusations on behalf of Chidambarams. The ED alleged that INX obtained FIPB approval for which illegal gratification was obtained through entities owned or controlled by Karti.
