CBI raids 14 residential properties owned by P Chidambaram and his son

CBI cites holes in 2007 FIPB nod to INX Media and its then directors, Indrani and Peter Mukherjea

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided as many as 14 residential premises owned by former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram.

The properties raided included those in Chennai and Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu, and in Mumbai, Delhi and Gurgaon.

The raids started on Tuesday morning at Karti Chidambaram's house and other places and went on for almost seven hours, after which the former finance minister's son was led by the officials to a nearby office.

Before boarding the car, Karti alleged that the raid was politically motivated and that the investigators were not able to lay their hands on any incriminating documents. He asserted his innocence saying he had not committed any mistake.

While there was no official statement from the CBI till evening, agency reports said it had registered a case on Monday related to alleged irregularities in granting Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance in 2007 to INX Media and its then directors, Indrani Mukherjea and Peter Mukherjea. CBI alleged that the company had applied for foreign direct investment worth Rs 4.62 crore and had invested downstream into INX News Pvt Ltd, without FIPB approval. It also claimed that the company's promoters had entered into a criminal conspiracy with Karti P Chidambaram to "wriggle out of the situation".

In a statement earlier during the day, P Chidambaram said, "The government, using the CBI and other agencies, is targeting my son and his friends. The government's aim is to silence my voice and stop me from writing, as it has tried to do in the cases of leaders of Opposition parties, journalists, columnists, NGOs and civil society organizations. All I will say is, I shall continue to speak and write."

"FIPB approval is granted in hundreds of cases and the five secretaries who constitute the FIPB -- the officials of the FIPB Secretariat -- and the competent authority in each case are public officials. There is no allegation against any of them," he added.

In April, the Enforcement Directorate had filed a status report in a sealed cover before the Supreme Court on the status of its investigation in a money laundering case related to the FIPB approval of the Aircel-Maxis deal, including the role of the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram, according to reports.

Investigations under PMLA are going on in respect of an FIPB approval given to Aircel-Maxis by Chidambaram, involving foreign inflow of around Rs 3,500 crore. As per government policy and FIPB guidelines, the competent authority for any inflow above Rs 600 crore was CCEA (Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs).