New Delhi, Feb 27 — The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday informed a special PMLA court that it has obtained sanction from the Union Home Ministry to prosecute former Union minister P. Chidambaram in the Aircel Maxis and INX Media money laundering cases.
The development is expected to expedite trial proceedings in matters that have remained pending for nearly 15 years. Court hearings had been delayed due to legal challenges questioning the agency’s powers and certain provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED’s investigations in both cases stem from FIRs registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation. In the Aircel Maxis case, the CBI initiated its probe in 2011, alleging irregularities in the grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval for $800 million in foreign direct investment. The ED has claimed that the approval was granted as part of a larger conspiracy.
In the INX Media matter, the CBI registered an FIR in 2017 and later named Chidambaram as an accused in its 2020 chargesheet. His son, Karti Chidambaram, along with several associates and alleged shell entities, has also been named in the case.
According to the ED, proceeds of crime amounting to over ₹65 crore were identified in the INX Media case and attached through multiple orders, which were subsequently confirmed by the adjudicating authority. The special court had taken cognisance of the chargesheet in March 2021, but trial proceedings have yet to conclude.
In the Aircel Maxis case, prosecution complaints were filed in 2018, and the special court at Rouse Avenue later took cognisance of the alleged offence of money laundering.
The agency has maintained that it is making efforts to fast-track both trials following the sanction for prosecution.