Court to decide on 14-day custody plea today
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested former Finance Minister P Chidambaram after grilling him inside Tihar Jail in connection with the INX Media money laundering case.
Chidambaram was undergoing judicial custody in a related CBI case in which he was probed under Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).
Shortly after his arrest, the ED filed a petition before Special judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar seeking a 14-day custodial interrogation of the 74-year-old Congress veteran.
While issuing a production warrant against Chidambaram in the ED case, the court said it will take up the remand plea on Thursday when his judicial custody in the CBI case expires.
The court directed the jail authorities to produce Chidambaram at 3 pm on Thursday.
CBI sources, meanwhile, said the probe agency is all set to file a chargesheet in the corruption case in which it is likely to name Chidambaram and his son Karti.
The ED’s action against Chidambaram comes after the special Judge on Tuesday allowed the agency to interrogate Chidambaram in jail and arrest him, if necessary.
A three-member ED team arrived at the prison at 8.15 am, and remained in the premises for about two hours during which they briefly questioned Chidambaram after he was placed under arrest.
The arrest was made under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and his statement was also recorded under the same provision of law, officials said.
The ED had questioned Chidambaram a number of times in the past in connection with the money laundering probe but the Rajya Sabha member was not arrested due to a court directive barring the agency from taking any coercive action.
The ED’s move also comes against the backdrop of fresh leads from foreign countries in response to Letter Rogatory (judicial request) and his custodial interrogation will further help in unearthing the money laundering conspiracy and aid in establishing the proceeds of crime, officials said.
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As expected, ED arrests PC after grilling in Tihar
The ED had in October last year attached assets worth Rs 54 crore of Karti in India, the UK and Spain, under the PMLA and the sleuths are expected to grill him on the source of the funds.
The ED is also looking at filing the first chargesheet in the case or prosecution complaint in the case and it may include Chidambaram’s forthcoming statements too.
The ED had filed a criminal case under the PMLA in 2017 to probe alleged irregularities in the grant of FIPB approval to the INX Media group.
The INX Media got its FIPB (foreign investment promotion board) approvals in 2007-08 when Chidambaram was serving as the Union Finance Minister.
It is alleged that this approval was irregular and the investigative agencies have charged Chidambaram with committing corruption and money laundering by taking kickbacks from promoter couple of the INX Media Group, Indrani and Peter Mukerjea, through Karti.