CBI GRILLED PC ON DEC 6, MAY QUIZ HIM AGAIN
Wednesday, 17 December 2014 | PNS | New Delhi
The noose is tightening around former Finance Minister P Chidambaram with the CBI questioning him in the Aircel-Maxis case in which the agency has already chargesheeted former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran and his brother Kalanidhi.
While CBI remained tight-lipped on Chidambaram’s questioning, agency sources said he was examined on December 6 and his statement recorded after three hours of grilling. The sources said Chidambaram will be called again for questioning after corroborating his statement with the documents relating to the FIPB approval about the dubious deal.
Meanwhile, Enforcement Directorate also swung into action and sought details from RBI on financial transactions of Chidambaram’s son Karti-controlled companies involved in the Aircel-Maxis deal.
During the questioning on violations of rules in the grant of FIPB approval, Chidambaram claimed that that “these were the practices going on that time,” the sources said.
During his examination, the CBI sleuths asked him why he did not seek the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) before granting approval to Malaysia-based Maxis Company when the FDI in the deal was valued at around Rs 4,000 crore. In 2006, the FIPB was entitled to clear FDI investment up to Rs 600 crore only.
According to sources, “literally the former Finance Minister has no answer” on the Maxis’ declaration to Malaysian stock exchange on takeover of more than 99 per cent of shares in Aircel. As per the norms then only 74 per cent of FDI was allowed in the telecom sector.
Chidambaram, sources said, also fumbled before CBI investigators on the discrepancy of share values in the deal.
According to the deal, 74 per cent of Aircel’s shares were allotted to Maxis for Rs 3,000 crore.
During the same period Apollo Hospital Group-linked company was granted 26 per cent shares at a pittance of below Rs 30 crore. Chidambaram could not answer to these irregularities, the said sources.
The ED on its part has asked RBI about the entire money transaction details of Karti-controlled three companies with certain banks. There was huge transfer of money to Singapore from Karti-controlled companies during the Aircel-Maxis deal in mid-2006.
Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited, Ausbridge Holding and Investments Private Limited and Kaiser Surya Samudra Resorts are the Karti-linked companies under the ED’s radar in connection with Aircel-Maxis money trail. ED has sought details from RBI’s Foreign Exchange Department in the last week of November. RBI has not yet furnished the data of Karti controlled companies from 2004 to 2012.
The CBI has already mentioned Chidambaram’s name for the alleged FIPB violation in the chargesheet against former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran. Apart from Aircel-Maxis scam, CBI is also probing Chidambaram’s role in the violations in the approval of Swan-Etisalat deal worth Rs 4,500 crore in mid 2008. CBI has already registered Preliminary Enquiry on this matter in November.
Meanwhile, in the evening Chidambaram told PTI “they (CBI) took a brief statement from me on the FIPB approval. I repeated what I said in my Press statement earlier. Nothing more than that.”
Chidambaram had said in September that the file regarding the case was put up before him by officials and he approved it “in the normal course”.