INX Media Case: Supreme Court allows Karti Chidambaram to travel aboard

New Delhi, Feb 22: The Supreme Court on Monday allowed Karti Chidambaram, son of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, to travel abroad. The bench asked him to furnish the itinerary and security of Rs 2 crores.

Karti, being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI in several cases, including the one relating to FIPB clearance to INX Media for receiving foreign funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore when his father was the finance minister, was earlier, too, allowed to go abroad.

Here is a six-point explainer of what the INX Media case is:

INX entered into a criminal conspiracy with Karti Chidambaram to amicably settle a case of violation of foreign investment norms by the company in 2007.

The media firm had brought in Rs 305 crore through foreign investment even as the FIPB had approved foreign inflow of only Rs 4.62 crore.

Karti was engaged by the firm "by virtue of his relationship with the then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, the CBI alleged.

Karti Chidambaram exercised influence over certain FIPB officials and the department instead of investigating the case, extended undue favours to the media firm by asking it to apply for fresh FIPB approval on the downstream investment of Rs 305 crore in violation of norms.

INX Media was granted FIPB permission for the investment which had already come into the firm. Karti Chidambaram received Rs 10 lakh from INX Media for "management consultancy charges" through Advantage Strategic Consulting (P) Ltd, a firm which was indirectly controlled by Chidambaram. CBI says that this was done to conceal the identity of Chidambaram.

CBI alleges that invoices of at least Rs 3.5 crore were raised in favour of INX Group in the name of companies where Chidambaram has direct and indirect interests.