ED files chargesheet against P Chidambaram in Aircel Maxis case after nod from Centre

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram

Enforcement Directorate said it has received sanction from the competent authority to prosecute former finance minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram in the years-old Aircel Maxis case. The investigative agency has filed the chargesheet against Chidambaram before the Special Court, Rouse Avenue to expedite the trial, it said on February 26.

"ED has placed prosecution sanction order received from the Competent Authority against Shri. P. Chidambaram, the then Union Finance Minister in respect of the offence of money laundering in the Aircel Maxis Deal, before the Ld. Special Court," the agency said in a statement.

The competent authority is the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

The ED alleged in the case, for which FIR was filed by CBI in 2017, investigation has revealed the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) gave approval to INX Media Pvt Ltd during Chidambaram’s term as the Union finance minister and “illegal gratification” of Rs 1.16 crore was received by Karti Chidambaram through various entities to regularize the approval.

The probe agency alleged that the foreign investor in the Aircel-Maxis case had applied for a foreign direct investment of Rs 3,565.91 crore, for which the competent authority was the CCEA. However, the approval was granted fraudulently and dishonestly by P Chidambaram, who was competent to clear investments worth Rs 600 crore or less.

The agency claimed there were financial transactions between the father and the son and funds of ASCPL were spent "for and on behalf of" P Chidambaram.

The federal probe agency had filed a chargesheet in the Aircel-Maxis case in 2018 and in the INX Media case in 2020 at the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Delhi (Rouse Avenue) and the court took their separate cognisance in 2021.

However, in November 2024, the Supreme Court directed (in the ED vs Bibhu Prasad Acharya case) that sanction for prosecution is mandatory in a PMLA chargesheet, similar to such an approval furnished while filing a chargesheet under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

Subsequent to this judgement, many accused charged under PMLA challenged the proceedings in multiple legal forums, leading to a delay in the trial including in these cases against P Chidambaram.

P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram have always denied wrongdoing in these cases alleging it was a political witch hunt against them by the BJP-led central government.

P Chidambaram was named as accused number 6 in the Aircel-Maxis case while he was arraigned as accused no. 1 in the INX Media deal case chargesheet.

The ED filed a PMLA case in the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2012 taking cognisance of a CBI FIR of October 2011. It has filed two chargesheets in the case.