New Delhi, March 1: After hearing Karti Chidambaram’s bail plea in connection with the INX Media money laundering case, the Patiala High Court on Thursday extended his custody. In its decision, the Court ordered that Karti will stay in jail till March 6, 2018.
The CBI counsel told the court there is sufficient evidence of links between Karti and the companies which allegedly received kickbacks from Indrani and Peter Mukerjea, the then promoters of INX Media. “We have emails and invoices indicating money was given to Advantage Strategic Consultancy Private Limited (ASCPL) in the time period when INX media received favours”, the CBI added.
Karti's counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi said in the Patiala House Court that there is no ground for custodial interrogation. He questioned saying, "How can CBI claim non-cooperation when they haven't issued summons? All documents are in their possession".
The CBI further added saying that the whole purpose of Wednesday's custody was defeated when after Karti's medical examination, doctor got him shifted to Cardiac Care Unit. "It was surprising because Karti didn't complain of anything. He was perfectly fine in morning but gave evasive answers when CBI questioned him", CBI was quoted by ANI.
As per reports, Bhaskararaman- CA of Karti Chidambaram had filed a bail plea before a Delhi Court on Wednesday. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested S Bhaskararaman from a hotel in Delhi on February 16. Following this, a Delhi court had sent him to 14 days of judicial custody on February 26. Karti, the son of former union minister P Chidambaram, was sent to CBI custody for a day by a court in Delhi on Wednesday.
Former finance minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday had put out an emphatic defence in court, saying that he was the one who ordered a probe into the company that his son is accused of dealing with.
Earlier today, Karti Chidambaram was being questioned at the CBI headquarters in Delhi, ANI reported. The 46-year-old businessman was arrested on Wednesday morning at Chennai airport and then brought to Delhi. Thereafter, Karti was sent to one-day police custody, as against 15 day-custody sought by the CBI.
As per reports, it has been alleged that Karti illegally took service charges for getting the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to the INX Media for receiving funds from abroad worth Rs 305 crore in 2007 when his father was the finance minister in the Congress-led UPA Government. An FIR filed by the CBI on May 15 last year had alleged irregularities in the FIPB clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007. The CBI has registered an FIR against Karti, his company Chess Management Services, the Mukerjeas, INX Media, Advantage Strategic Consulting Services and its Director Padma Vishwanathan.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 01, 2018 06:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).