INX Media case: ED attaches Chidambaram's assets worth Rs. 54cr
According to news agency PTI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs. 54cr from Karti Chidambaram, both in India and abroad, in connection with the INX Media case. Reacting to the seizure of assets, Karti quickly took to Twitter to call the action by the ED "bizarre and outlandish". He has said that he will seek legal recourse. Here are the details.
Details of the assets attached by the ED
The assets were attached under a provisional order issued by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Assets in Kodaikanal and Ooty in Tamil Nadu were attached, as well as an apartment in Delhi's Jorbagh. Meanwhile, a cottage and house in Somerset, UK, a tennis club in Barcelona, Spain, and a fixed deposit of Rs. 90 lakh was also attached.
Karti Chidambaram reacts to the ED's actions
What is the INX Media case?
In 2007, INX had brought in Rs. 305cr through foreign investment, even though the FIPB had given approval for only Rs. 4.62cr. Apparently, Karti, the son of former union finance minister P Chidambaram, influenced the FIPB to allow the investment. For this, he purportedly received Rs. 90cr from INX as "consultancy charges." INX Media was formerly owned by Peter and Indrani Mukerjea.
Details about the money laundering case
The Chidambaram family is the ultimate beneficiary of Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd (ASCPL), through which the "consultancy charges" were paid. In May 2017, ED registered a case against Karti for criminal conspiracy, cheating, seeking to influence a public servant, and criminal misconduct. But he has "categorically denied" any wrongdoings in the FIPB approval. The Mukerjeas were also named in the case.
