The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today filed chargesheet against former finance minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti in connection with the Aircel-Maxis case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today filed chargesheet against former finance minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti in connection with the Aircel-Maxis case.
Chidambaram has been accused of misusing his power and position as finance minister.
This is the first chargesheet against the former finance minister and Congress strongman, who is also under scanner in the INX Media case.
Senior officials of Aircel and Maxis have also been named in the chargesheet. However, CBI is awaiting court's approval for their prosecution.
The court had asked CBI to furnish concrete evidence against the former finance minister, to which the agency responded that they were in possession of adequate evidence.
The agency has named a total of 18 people including Chidambaram and his son. CBI has alleged that the former finance minister abused his power in granting Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approvals. The agency has also discovered two money trails in the case.
Moments after the development, the former finance minister reacted sharply in a tweet. He said that the investigating agency has been under pressure to file a chargesheet to support the allegations against him.
Congress Slams Centre
Meanwhile, the Congress has reacted saying that the Centre has been misusing its power and the agencies.
Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said that there are multiple agencies registering different cases for a single case. Sharma said that the real culprits in the case have fled country.
"Let the courts decide the case and Mr Chidambaram has every right to defend himself," said Sharma.
"They have been doing this for the last four years but they aren't able to silence the Opposition's voice and in a democracy they will never be able to muzzle our voice," said Anand Sharma.
The Aircel - Maxis case
The Aircel-Maxis case is a case of alleged money laundering. P Chidambaram, as finance minister, is alleged to have bypassed protocol to grant approval for a foreign direct investment (FDI) worth Rs 3,500 crore. That investment was made by a subsidiary of the Malaysia-based Maxis into now-defunct Indian operator Aircel.
Probe agencies also allege that a payment of Rs 26 lakh was made by Aircel to Advantage Strategic Consulting, a firm allegedly linked to Karti, within a few days after Chidambaram granted the foreign direct investment approval.