ED conducts fresh searches on people linked to Karti Chidambaram in INX Media PMLA case
Karti Chidambaram
Chidambaram, on Thursday, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the second time in connection with the INX Media money laundering case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conductingfresh searches on people linked to Karti Chidambaram,son of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram,in Chennai in INX Media PMLA case on Friday.
Chidambaram, on Thursday, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the second time in connection with the INX Media money laundering case, official sources said.
This was the second time he appeared before the ED in this case after he was first grilled by the agency on January 18.
The central probe agency had earlier summoned Karti Chidambaram on February 2 after which he informed them that he would be unable to depose as he had an interlocutory application pending in the Supreme Court in this case.
The central probe agency had registered the case against him and others in May last year.
It had registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), the ED's equivalent of a police FIR, against the accused named in a CBI complaint, including Karti Chidambaram, INX Media and its directors -- Peter and Indrani Mukerjea.
The ECIR was lodged under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The CBI had also carried out searches at the houses and offices of Karti Chidambaram across four cities for allegedly receiving money from the media firm owned by the Mukerjeas to scuttle a tax probe.
The Chidambaram's have denied all the charges made against them.
The CBI had filed the FIR against Karti Chidambaram and the Mukerjeas on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, receiving illegal gratification, influencing public servants and criminal misconduct.
The agency has alleged that Karti Chidamabaram received money from INX Media for using his influence to manipulate a tax probe against it in a case of violation of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) conditions to receive investment from Mauritius.
The CBI has said that it also seized vouchers ofRs 10 lakh which were allegedly paid for the services.
The vouchers were issued in favor of the Advantage Strategic Consulting (P) Limited, a firm "indirectly" owned by Karti.
(With PTI inputs)