PC

For last few days, P Chidambaram (PC) is in news for his involvement in money laundering/corruption case. PC is a Congressmen who was Finance Minister  and Home Minister in UPA 1 and UPA 2 govts.

The case came into limelight after the promoters of INX Media group Ms Indrani Mukherjee and Peter Mukherjee got arrested in murder case of Sheena Bora who was Indrani’s daughter from first marriage. During the interrogations, it came into notice of  authorities there was wrong doing in foreign investment in INX group. This wrong doing happened when PC was finance Minister. Instead of approved foreign investment of Rs 4.62 Cr, Rs 305 Cr came into INX group as foreign investment.

CBI had registered an FIR, alleging irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance give to INX group for receiving  funds of Rs 305 Cr. PC was  Finance Minister at that time.

While investigating a company associated with PC’s son Karti Chidambaram, ED found documents linked to INX Media in the computer of Karti’s CA Bhaskarraman. The documents indicated payments made to Karti’s alleged company by INX Media at the time the Finance Ministry granted it FIPB approval.

On ED’s reference in this regard, CBI registered a case of corruption in May 2017, and searched premises connected with both Karti and his father PC. Following this, ED lodged a case of money laundering against Karti. Who was arrested by CBI in February last year. He was later granted bail by Delhi High Court, and is now the Congress Lok Sabha MP from Sivaganga.

In its FIR, CBI said that INX Media had approached FIPB on March 13, 2007 for permission to issue 14.98 lakh equity shares and 31.22 lakh convertible non-cumulative redeemable preference shares of Rs 10 a piece to three non-resident investors under the FDI route.

These shares represented 46.21% of the issued equity capital of INX Media.

According to the CBI, in its application to FIPB in 2007, the media company also mentioned its intention to make a down stream financial investment to the extent of 26 per cent of the issued and outstanding equity share capital of INX News Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of INX Media.

On May 30, 2007, FIPB cleared FDI of Rs 4.62 crore for INX Media. But it rejected the proposal of downstream investment of INX Media in INX News.

The CBI has alleged that INX Media flouted the conditional approval of FIPB, and brought in over Rs 305 crore of FDI in the firm against the approved inflow of Rs 4.62 crore.

CBI sources had said at the time that the foreign entities bought shares of INX at Rs 862.31 a piece, which was 86.2 times more than their face value. The media organisation also made a downstream investment of 26% in its subsidiary, INX News.

CBI has alleged that on May 26, 2008, when FIPB sought clarification from INX Media after the I-T Department began its investigation, the media firm engaged Karti Chidambaram, the promoter director of Chess Management Service (P) Ltd, to amicably resolve the issue by influencing the public servants of the FIPB unit of Ministry of Finance by virtue of he being the son of PC, then Finance Minister.

CBI has alleged that FIPB, instead of investigating the case, extended undue favours to the media firm by asking INX News to apply for fresh FIPB approval on the downstream investment that it had already received.

The following is the sequence of the happening in this case, after it came into public eye

15^th May 2017: CBI files FIR, alleging irregularities in FIPB clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 Cr in 2007 when Karti’s father  PC was Union Finance Minister.

The same month, ED files money laundering case in the matter.

16^th Jun 2017: Foreigner Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) and Bureau of Immigration, under Union Home Ministry, issues look-out circular (LOC) against Karti.

10^th Aug 2017: Madras HC stays LOCs issued against Karti and four others.

14^th Aug 2017: Supreme Court stays HC order.

18^th Aug 2017: SC asks Karti to appear before CBI on August 23.

11^th Sept 2017: CBI tells SC it has furnished details in a sealed cover on the probe about  possible transactions abroad and 25 alleged offshore properties of Karti.

22^nd Sep 2017: CBI tells SC that Karti was prevented from traveling abroad as he was allegedly closing foreign bank accounts.

9^th Oct 2017: Karti seeks SC’s nod to visit the UK to get his daughter admitted at Cambridge University.

9^th Oct 2017: PC tells SC that the NDA government has been carrying on a political vendetta against him and his son.

20^th Nov 2017: SC allows Karti to visit the UK for daughter’s admission.

8^th Dec 2017: Karti moves SC challenging summons issued by CBI against him in Aircel-Maxis case.

28^th Feb 2018: Karti arrested by CBI at Chennai airport and brought to Delhi. Delhi court sends him to one-day police custody.

5^th Mar 2018: Karti moves SC to challenge ED summons issued in money laundering case.

6^th Mar 2018: Special court sends Karti to 3-day CBI custody.

12^th Mar 2018: Court sends Karti to 12-day judicial custody. Karti moves Delhi HC seeking bail in the corruption case.

15^th Mar 2018: SC gives interim protection to Karti from arrest by ED.

23^rd Mar 2018: Delhi HC grants bail to Karti in INX Media corruption case.

30^th May 2018: PC moves Delhi HC seeking anticipatory bail plea in CBI corruption case.

23^rd Jul 2018: PC moves Delhi HC for anticipatory bail in money laundering case of ED.

25^th Jul 2018: HC grants him interim protection from arrest in both cases.

11^th Oct  2018: ED attaches 50% of PC’s Jor Bagh bungalow

11^th Jun 2019: Sheena Bora murder case accused and INX Media owner Indrani Mukherjea turns approver in this case.

20^th Aug 2019: HC dismisses anticipatory bail pleas, declines PC’s request to stay the order for 3 days to enable him to appeal in SC.

21^st Aug 2019: Supreme Court lists PC’s petition for hearing on 23^rd Aug seeking stay of Delhi HC order that dismissed his anticipatory bail plea.

On the same day, Chidambaram is arrested.

With PC’s arrest, Congress party has started saying that this is political vendetta movement by BJP led NDA govt. In fact all the Congress leaders are worried now and  are thinking about what is going to happen next. It seems obvious that Modi govt is bent upon on going after corrupt politicians and general public is not going to have sympathy with PC, after 2G,CWG, Coal scam and other scams which  were unearthed few years back.

It is difficult to say whether PC will come out unscathed from this episode , but one thing is certain there is going to be fireworks in media, specially by so called pseudo secular media which is always anti BJP.

No idea what will be move of PC’s colleagues Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Sanghvi who are  lawyers and are representing PC in this case.

Friends, actually I have thought of  writing  blog on this topic yesterday, but had to wait because of result of PC’s plea of interim bail in SC, which did not get listed yesterday till late evening. Then CBI arrested PC in a dramatic fashion, as CBI’s officers were denied entry by security personnel of PC’s Bungalow, then they jump over the boundary wall to go in side and arrest him.

We will have to wait and watch for the further development.

Awaiting your feed backs/comments/views.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

22^nd Aug 2019