Aircel-Maxis case: Court extends interim protection granted to Chidambaram, Karti till Aug 7

New Delhi, July 10: Delhi's Patiala House Court on Tuesday extended interim protection granted to P Chidambaram and Karti Chidambaram till August 7 in connection with Aircel-Maxis case.

The former finance minister was given protection from arrest by the Enforcement Directorate till July 10 by the Court. Earlier, Chidambaram had appeared before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case.

The Aircel-Maxis deal case, which emerged out of 2G spectrum cases, pertains to a grant by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to firm M/S Global Communication Holding Services Ltd for investment in Aircel.

The ED has also mentioned the name of former union minister Chidambaram at various places in the charge sheet. However, he has not been arrayed as an accused in the probe report.

Apart from Karti Chidambaram, the agency has also named Advantage Strategic Consultancies Private Limited and its directors Padma Bhaskararamana and Ravi Viswanathan, and Chess Management Services Pvt. Ltd. And its director Annamalai Palaniappa in the charge sheet under section 4 (punishment for money laundering) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

According to sources, the agency in its charge sheet, filed through advocate A R Aditya, mentioned that the former union minister's son has been linked with various individuals and companies involved in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval given to the Aircel-Maxis deal.

It also alleged that Karti Chidambaram was in the process of alienating the property involved in the money laundering in order to frustrate the proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency told the court that it might file a supplementary charge sheet in the case.

The court has already granted interim protection from arrest till July 10 to Karti Chidambaram in two cases filed by the CBI and the ED in 2011 and 2012, respectively in the Aircel-Maxis matter arising out of the 2G spectrum allocation scam cases.