Aircel-Maxis: Court to consider charge sheet against Karti Chidambaram on July 6

A Delhi court will consider on Friday a charge sheet against former union minister P Chidambaram's son Karti in the Aircel-Maxis money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The court, which was scheduled to take up the matter for consideration today, posted it as the concerned judge was on leave.

In its prosecution complaint, equivalent to the charge sheet, the ED had alleged that Karti controlled two firms which allegedly received Rs 1.16 crore as bribe money in the case.

Though the name of P Chidambaram, who was also quizzed recently by the CBI and the ED in the INX media and the Aircel-Maxis money laundering cases respectively, was mentioned in the charge sheet, the Congress veteran has not been arrayed as an accused in the probe report.

The ED probe report had said the payments of Rs 26 lakh to Advantage Strategic Consultancies Private Limited (ASCPL) and Rs 90 lakh to Chess Management Services Pvt Limited (CMSPL) respectively were made as alleged bribe money by parent company of Aircel Ltd, namely Aircel Televentures Ltd (ATVL) and Maxis and its associate Malaysian companies respectively.

The probe agency may file supplementary charge sheets in the case, apparently keeps open the chances of arraying more persons as accused.

Apart from Karti, the agency has also named ASCPL and its directors Padma Bhaskararamana and Ravi Viswanathan, and CMSPL and its director Annamalai Palaniappa in the charge sheet under section 4 (punishment for money laundering) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED had registered the case under the sections of PMLA on February 7, 2012 on basis of an FIR registered by the CBI.

The court has already granted interim protection from arrest till July 10 to Karti in two cases filed by the CBI and the ED in 2011 and 2012, respectively in the Aircel-Maxis matter arising out of 2G spectrum cases, while his anticipatory bail plea is pending before the court.

P Chidambaram has also been granted protection from arrest till July 10 by a court in the money laundering case while his anticipatory bail is pending before the court.