INX Media Money Laundering Case: CBI Arrests Karti Chidambaram

CHENNAI:
The CBI on Wednesday morning arrested Karti Chidambaram at Chennai airport in connection with the INX money laundering case.
Officials in the investigating agency have said that Karti’s family members were informed before the arrest. Sources in the CBI said they detained Karti when he landed at Chennai airport after his foreign trip. Soon after Karti’ arrest, he was taken to a secluded place where he was being questioned.
A senior CBI officer said, “We have strong evidence to confirm his role in a cheating case.” However, the official denied to divulge more information about the case.
Karti’s chartered accountant S Bhaskararaman was recently arrested from a five-star hotel in Delhi on February 16.
The national investigative agency has alleged that Karti 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 conditions to receive investment from Mauritius. The CBI has said that it also seized vouchers of Rs 10 lakh which were allegedly paid for the services. The Congress today said Karti’s arrest is a “classic diversionary tactic”of the Modi government.
“Classic diversionary tactic of the Modi government to hide their own corrupt governance model that is being exposed on a daily basis– be it Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Dwarka Das Seth Jewellers. The BJP govt continues it’s vendetta and vindictive politics to target opponents. however, it will not stop the Congress from bringing the truth out to the people,” said the Congress.
Last week, Karti, a son of Congress leader P Chidambaram, moved the Supreme Court ( SC ) seeking a stay on the Enforcement Directorate’s ( ED ) summons against him in the INX Media case. He reportedly told the ED that he was appearing before the agency “under protest”. He was first grilled by the agency on January 18.
The ED had earlier summoned Karti on February 2 after which he informed them 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 Karti 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. The sources said the ED was probing the alleged “proceeds of crime” generated in this case.
It was the ED which had provided information about the alleged illegal payments made by INX Media, based on which the CBI had filed its FIR. Karti will be produced before a CBI court in Chennai before taking him to Delhi for further questioning.