The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had on Wednesday requested the court to reject the anticipatory bail plea of former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis money laundering case and pressed for his custodial interrogation.
P Chidambaram (Photo: Twitter)
A Delhi court on Thursday extended interim protection from arrest granted to former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and his son Karti till November 26 in the Aircel-Maxis money laundering case.
Special Judge O.P. Saini, while extending the interim protection from arrest of father and son, also listed for further hearing Chidambaram’s anticipatory bail plea.
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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had on Wednesday requested the court to reject the anticipatory bail plea of former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis money laundering case and pressed for his custodial interrogation.
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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED are investigating how Karti Chidambaram allegedly managed to get clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2006 when his father was the Union Finance Minister.
The ED on October 25 filed a charge-sheet in the case naming Chidambaram and a few others.
The CBI on July 19 filed a charge sheet against 18 persons in the case, including the former Finance Minister and Karti.
On August 29, 2014, the CBI had filed a charge-sheet in the case alleging that between July 2004 and September 2008, Dayanidhi Maran, as Minister in the UPA-I government, used his influence to help Malaysian businessman T.A. Ananda Krishnan buy Aircel by coercing its owner Sivasankaran to part with his stake.
Sivasankaran alleged that Maran favoured the Krishnan-owned Maxis Group in the takeover of his company. In return, he alleged, Maxis made investments through Astro Network, a sister concern, in Sun Direct TV Pvt Ltd (SDTPL), stated to be owned by the Maran family.
However, a special court had dropped charges against Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi and others in the alleged kickback of Rs 742 crore in the Aircel-Maxis deal, saying the “perception or suspicion” was not backed by concrete evidence.
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