Chargesheet against P Chidambaram, Son in INX Media Money-Laundering Case

A charge sheet has been filed against Ex-Union minister P Chidambaram, his son Karti Chidambaram & others in connection with the INX Media money laundering case, said sources in the Enforcement Department, which was handling the case. The e-charge sheet will have to be backed up by a hard copy when the lockdown is lifted & the courts start functioning properly.

Earlier, the CNI had charged Mr Chidambaram & others with allegedly receiving around Rs 10 lakh as bribe for clearing foreign investment for INX Media.

The agency alleges that in 2007, during his tenure as the finance minister in the UPA government, P Chidambaram had facilitated a huge transfusion of foreign funds to INX Media, then owned by Ex-Media Baron Peter Mukerjea & his wife Indrani Mukerjea.

His son Karti Chidambaram had received kickbacks for the deal, investigators have said, building their case on the basis of Indrani Mukerjea's statement.

The Enforcement Directorate alleged that Mr Chidambaram & his son had used the kickbacks received from Mukerjeas to buy properties in India, UK & Spain.

In Aug 2019, the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested the P. Chidambaram after a dramatic chase that ended with agency officials scaling the walls of his south Delhi house in full view of television cameras.

On Oct 16, the Enforcement Department arrested him in a related money-laundering case & questioned him.

The former Minister was granted bail in Dec after more than three months' stay in Delhi's Tihar jail.

In May 2017, the Central Bureau of Investigation had filed its case, alleging irregularities in a Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance granted to the INX Media Group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007.

After almost 9 months, the agency filed the charge sheet against P. Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram & others on charges of alleged money laundering.

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