New Delhi: Less than a month after former Finance Minister P Chidambaram was released from Tihar here on bail in the INX Media case, the Enforcement Directorate on Friday questioned him in connection with a UPA-era money-laundering case pertaining to Air India and Indian Airlines' purchase of over 111 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus.
Interestingly, the veteran Congress leader was summoned to appear before the ED in this case on August 23 last year but two days before that, the CBI had arrested him in the INX Media case. He was in custody till December 4.
This case alleges that a proposal for Air India to buy 43 aircraft from Airbus was cleared by a panel of ministers headed by Chidambaram in 2009. According to the ED, the purchase proposal had a clause that required Airbus to build training facilities and MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) in India at a cost of around $175 million but the clause was allegedly dropped later.
The ED has also questioned former Civil Aviation Minister and NCP leader Praful Patel in the case multiple times.