Karti Chidambaram, son of former Union Minister P Chidambaram, was detained by CBI officials at Chennai airport this morning over INX media case. He was returning to Chennai from London, and was detained on arrival by CBI officials at around 8 AM, said airport sources.
Sources say Karti is still inside the airport and being interrogated. He is likely to be taken to Delhi from the airport directly after obtaining a transit warrant in a city court.
On February 16, Karti Chidambaram's chartered accountant S Bhaskaraman was arrested from a five star hotel in Delhi. The CBI had alleged that Karti received money from INX Media to use his influence to manipulate a tax probe against the company in violation of FIPB conditions to receive investment by the company from Mauritius.
Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot in a tweet said, "Karti Chidambaram was arrested when he landed at Chennai airport, he was not trying to escape from India like Nirav Modi then arresting him on his arrival at airport is funny. Karti Chidambaram was cooperating the CBI, the CBI could have summoned him."
An FIR filed by the CBI on May 15 last year had alleged irregularities in the FIPB clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007 when Karti's father P Chidambaram was the Union finance minister. It is alleged Karti had received funds to the tune of Rs 10 lakh in the case, they said.
The CBI had registered a case against Mr Karti, M/s INX Media (P) Ltd., represented by its then directors Indrani Mukherjea and Pritam Mukherjea alias Peter Mukherjea, Chess Management Services (represented through its director Mr. Karti Chidambaram), Advantage Strategic Consultancy (P) Ltd., represented through its director Padma Vishwanathan and others, besides unknown officials in the Ministry of Finance on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and corruption.
The CBI had accused Mr. Karti of having received commissions through companies such as Chess Management and ASC to scuttle a probe by the Department of Revenue into the allegations of financial irregularities.
The ED has also registered a money laundering case. The CBI is also probing the alleged irregularities in grant of the FIPB clearance to the Aircel–Maxis deal in 2006.