Aircel Maxis Case: ED files chargesheet naming Chidambaram as accused No.1

New Delhi, Oct 25: The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday filed a supplementary chargesheet in the Aircel-Maxis case in Delhi's Patiala House Court.Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has been named as accused number 1. The case will be considered by the Delhi court on November 26.

The agency has named nine accused in the case including Chidambaram, S Bhaskaraman and four Maxis companies.

The Aircel-Maxis cases pertains to grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance to firm M/S Global Communication Holding Services Ltd in 2006 for investment in Aircel.

The ED has charged Chidambaram and others with laundering Rs 1.16 crore for the illegal approval given by the Congress leader for a foreign investment worth Rs 3,560 crore by Global Communication and Holdings, a subsidiary of Maxis Berhad, Malaysia, when he was the finance minister in 2006.

ED said Chidambaram, as the finance minister, was empowered to approve foreign investment up to Rs 600 crore only, but he violated the rule by not referring it to the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs.

The agency said its probe revealed that the case of the said FDI was "wrongly projected as an investment of Rs 180 crore so that it need not be sent to the CCEA to avoid a detailed scrutiny".

The Supreme Court had on March 12 directed investigating agencies - the CBI and the ED - to complete their probe into the 2G spectrum allocation cases, including the Aircel Maxis alleged money laundering case, in six months.

ED said the charges were based on evidences - emails retrieved from the digital devices of Chidambaram's son, Karti, which revealed routing of the proceeds of crime in the guise of bonafide business deals by Maxis group to the companies of Karti.

ED probe revealed financial linkage of Karti and his father with these companies despite the "contradictory and evasive" responses of various people questioned in connection with the case.

The ED said it will continue its probe into the case deal under the PMLA Act after taking cognisance of a 2011 CBI FIR in the case.