ED registers money laundering case against Karti Chidambaram

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday registered a money laundering case against Karti Chidambaram, the son of former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, on the basis of a corruption case filed by the CBI earlier this week, officials said.

"We have registered a case against Karti Chidambaram under charges of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)," an ED official told IANS.

The ED action comes in the wake of the FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday under offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating, taking gratification by corrupt or illegal means, influencing public servants and criminal misconduct.

In the FIR, it is alleged that Karti received Rs 3.5 crore from INX Media, now 9X Media, for helping it in the clearance of a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) proposal when his father was Union Finance Minister.

The FIPB clearance was given to Mumbai-based INX Media when it was run by Peter Mukherjea and his wife Indrani, both accused in the Sheena Bora murder case.

The FIR does not mention the name of Chidambaram, though it states that he had cleared the FIPB approval for Rs 4.62 crore Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in a meeting on May 18, 2007.

Karti left for London two days after the CBI registered a case against him. Chidambaram has said that he will return soon.