CBI summons Karti Chidambaram in Aircel-Maxis deal

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned Karti Chidambaram, son of former finance minister P Chidambaram, on Thursday in connection with money laundering probe in the Aircel-Maxis deal.

He was earlier summoned by the CBI on July 21 as well.

Karti has accused the CBI of hatching a conspiracy against him and has alleged that investigation agency was nailing him because of its frustration arising out of its inability to prove anything against him and his father in connection with the matter.

The Aircel-Maxis deal refers to a series of allegations of kickbacks in the telecom sector, which was part of the wider 2G scam that engulfed the UPA regime. In 2011, former Aircel head C Sivasankaran complained to the CBI that he was being forced by then telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran to sell Aircel to the Malaysia-based Maxis Communications group owned by T Ananda Krishnan.

Earlier in February, the then communication minister Dayanidhi Maran and the others accused in the Aircel-Maxis case, were discharged by a special CBI court.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy had alleged that in 2006 a company controlled by Karti Chidambaram received a 5% share of Aircel to get part of Rs 4,000 crore paid by Maxis for a 74 percent stake in Aircel. According to Swamy, Chidambaram withheld FIPB clearance till the 5% was paid to Karthi.