INX Media money-laundering: ED questions Karti Chidambaram

New Delhi: After having questioned father P Chidambaram in custody in connection with the INX Media case, the ED on Monday interrogated his son and senior Congress leader Karti Chidambaram with respect to the money-laundering investigation in the alleged corruption scandal where hundreds of crores were allegedly infused into the Indian media company by way of illegal foreign direct investment.

Officials here said that Karti arrived at the ED headquarters here in the afternoon and was questioned about his alleged involvement in the case till around 6 pm when he left the premises at Khan Market. Karti has earlier been arrested by the CBI in the same case, after which he was granted bail.

In fact, Karti has also been granted anticipatory bail in ED's INX Media investigation while his father has secured regular bail for both the ED and CBI matters from the Supreme Court after he was arrested and questioned in custody by both the CBI and the ED las year.

The INX Media case pertains to the alleged illegal inflow of foreign funds of over Rs 300 crore into the Indian media company, without the appropriate clearances

from the then government. Besides, the CBI and ED have accused Chidambaram, who was then the Finance Minister of having demanded a bribe in exchange for burying the alleged irregularities through his son Karti.

While the CBI has filed a chargesheet against Karti and Chidambaram after the latter's arrest, the central agency has been able to substantiate only Rs 9.96 lakh of payments made to a company purportedly linked to Karti in the form of what they have alleged to be a bribe.

The case gained prominence, when INX Media Director Indrani Mukerjea, who is in the dock for the Sheena Bora murder case, agreed to turn approver and give a statement implicating the Chidambarams in the case. Both the ED and the CBI have claimed bribe amounts running into tens of crores being paid, but are yet to substantiate the claims.

The CBI has also sought sanction to prosecute senior bureaucrats who were part of the FIP Board that is alleged to have granted clearances. The prosecution sanction was granted for four of the civil servants, including former NITI Aayog CEO Sindhushree Khullar, who was also confronted with Chidambaram in CBI custody.