Enforcement Directorate grills P Chidambaram in INX Media case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned former union minister P Chidambaram in the INX Media money laundering case on Wednesday.

"He was asked to depose before the investigating officer of the case to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)," said a senior ED officer.

Chidambaram reached ED office at around 11:30 am along with his lawyer. This is the first time that the former finance and home minister is being grilled by the ED in this case. The agency had earlier grilled Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram in this case and has also attached his assets worth an estimated Rs 54 crore, located in India and abroad.

Karti was also arrested on February 28 by the CBI for allegedly taking money to facilitate the FIPB clearance to INX Media in 2007. He was later granted bail.

The financial investigative agency had registered a PMLA case in this deal case on the basis of a CBI FIR and had alleged that irregularities took place in the FIPB clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007 when P Chidambaram was the Union finance minister.

It had registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), the ED's equivalent of a police FIR, against the accused named in a CBI complaint, including Karti, INX Media and its directors Peter and Indrani Mukerjea.