NEW DELHI (TIP): Karti Chidambaram refused to appear before the CBI in the Aircel-Maxis case, his lawyer said.
The agency had called Karti for questioning today in connection with the foreign investment clearance given in 2006 in the Aircel-Maxis deal when his father P Chidambaram was the Finance Minister.
Karti, through his lawyer, has refused to appear before the agency saying a special court had discharged all the accused in the matter. “All proceedings connected with the said (case)… were also terminated,” the response said.
“The response has been received by the CBI today at 10.30 am through a courier service. The response has also been sent through fax and email,” Karti’s lawyer Arun Natarajan said.
It said after the discharge of the accused and “termination” of the proceedings, the CBI will not have jurisdiction to issue a summons in connection with the said case.
According to the CBI chargesheet submitted in a special court, Mauritius-based M/s Global Communication Services Holdings Ltd. a subsidiary of Maxis, had sought approval for an investment of $800 million in Aircel.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs was competent to grant the approval. “However, the approval was granted by the then Finance Minister. Further investigation is being carried out into the circumstances of the FIPB approval granted by the then finance minister. The related issues are also being investigated,” the agency had said in 2014. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy claimed that the former Finance Minister had given FIPB clearance to a deal that should have been referred to the CCEA, headed by the Prime Minister, as it alone was empowered to clear foreign investments of over Rs 600 crore. Source: PTI