The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram for questioning in connection with its money-laundering probe into the purchase of 111 aircraft for Air India during the Congress-led UPA Government. The deal, made more than a decade ago, saddled the struggling national carrier with mounting losses.
Sources said, Chidambaram has been asked to depose before the investigating officer of the case on August 23 at an Enforcement Directorate office here to record his statement.
Chidambaram's grilling has been sought in the cases which relate to losses suffered by Air India due to an alleged multi-crore aviation scam and irregularities in fixing air slots for international airlines. The senior Congress leader is likely to be questioned regarding the purchase of 111 aircraft, then worth nearly Rs 70,000 crore, for Air India. Finance Ministry is responsible for fiscal prudence in expenditure of Government funds.
In 2011, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had questioned the rationale behind the government's decision to order 111 aircraft, 48 from Airbus and 68 from Boeing, for Air India and Indian Airlines for about Rs 70,000 crore in 2006.
The ED has already grilled former Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel in connection with these decisions. The leads gathered from Patel's questioning have prompted the ED to summon Chidambaram in order to take the probe forward, the sources said.
Besides being at the helm of the Finance Ministry, Chidambaram was also heading an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) for these deals and his questioning is expected to help the agency in understanding the decision-making process undertaken by the government for the acquisition of the aircraft.
Chidambaram is also being probed by ED in two separate money-laundering cases related to Aircel-Maxis deal and INX Media bribery scam and has been questioned in these cases multiple times in the past.
Chidambaram had earlier described the ED action in the Aircel-Maxis case as a "crazy mixture of falsehoods and conjectures".
The ED and CBI have sought custodial interrogation of Chidambaram in INX Media case. However, he has been granted protection from any adverse action by the Delhi High Court.
