Aircel-Maxis Case: CBI Given Two Months To Obtain Sanction To Prosecute The Accused

A court in Delhi has given the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) two months to obtain sanctions from the relevant authorities for prosecuting some of the accused in a case involving former Finance Minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram for alleged irregularities in the Aircel-Maxis deal case, The New Indian Express has reported.

On 19 July, CBI had filed a charge sheet against P Chidambaram, Karti Chidambaram and 10 others which included public servants and six companies. Senior advocate Sonia Mathur, who appeared for CBI, sought four weeks from the court to obtain relevant sanctions to prosecute certain accused in the case.

Special CBI judge O P Saini allowed the agency to seek sanctions from concerned authorities and the matter is next scheduled to be heard on 1 October.

The deal relates to the alleged corruption by P Chidambaram as the Finance Minister. Aircel had sought permission to bring in Foreign direct investment (FDI) of Rs 3,500 crore in 2006. To make sure that the matter was not referred to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), the Finance Ministry under P Chidambaram allegedly suppressed the figure to Rs 180 crore. The Finance Ministry has the power to clear foreign investments of up to Rs 600 crore.

P Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram was allegedly paid Rs 26 lakh in April 2006 for the FIPB approval granted to Aircel. The amount was allegedly paid to Chennai-based firm Advantage Strategic Consulting (ASC) barely 20 days after Aircel was granted the approval to bring in FDI by the Finance Ministry.