Graft case: Karti Chidambaram to face CBI heat

New Delhi: To further bolster their case against Karti Chidambaram, who is under CBI investigation for alleged bribery and corruption, the investigating agency is set to question jailed media baron Peter Mukerjea and his wife Indrani about their links with him.

Sources said that the CBI wants to know the details of Mukerjeas’ business dealings with Chennai-based Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt. Ltd (ASCPL), indirectly controlled by Karti,  the son of former finance minister P. Chidambaram. 

“Investigation has revealed that for services rendered by Karti to the INX Group, through Chess Management Services Limited, payments were received by ASCPL from INX Media Pvt. Ltd. This was allegedly done to conceal the identity of Karti and his firm, Chess Management,” sources said. Karti had allegedly, on behalf of the INX Group, owned by Indrani and Peter Mukerjea, influenced an official of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) unit to manipulate a tax probe against their firm relating to foreign investment. In return, he is alleged to have received money. “We have enough electronic evidence to prove that Karti was allegedly in touch with Peter and influenced the FIPB decision to benefit INX Media. Investigators also want to know as how the Mauritius based investor — Dunearn — purchased 6,45,447 shares of INX Media without the specific approval of the FIPB,” a source said. 

The CBI, which recently raided Karti’s Chennai residence and other places linked to him, is likely to summon him for questioning soon. 

“It has been found that INX Media deliberately and in violations of the conditions and approval, made a downstream investment and generated more than Rs 305 crore FDI in INX Media against the approved foreign inflow of Rs 4.62 crore by issuing shares to foreign investors, including Dunearn, at a premium of more than Rs 800 per share. When these violations came to light in 2008, the FIPB unit informed income tax authorities and shot off a letter to INX Media”, sources said. 

The INX Media then turned to Karti to help them “wriggle out of the situation without any action”, sources said, adding that upon receipt of this letter from the unit, INX Media Ltd allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy with Karti.