The statements of Indrani Mukerjea and her husband Peter Mukerjea, promoters of INX Media and co-accused in the money laundering case, are said to have been crucial in implicating P Chidambaram.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had submitted to the court Indrani's statement, according to which the two promoters and a senior company executive had approached Chidambaram for foreign direct investment approval after the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) rejected their request for a stake sale to the tune of 26 per cent.
The former finance minister cleared it for a sale of Rs 4.62 crore only. According to Indrani's statement, the request was approved on the condition that Peter help Chidambaram's son Karti in his business and make possible overseas remittances in lieu of the FIPB approval.
Indrani, who is serving time after being accused of murdering her daughter Sheena Bora, had refused to say how much money was exchanged in this matter, a Times of India report quoted the ED as saying.
But after the Income Tax unit got wind of this sale and irregularities that helped INX Media generate Rs 305 crore in the foreign direct investment (FDI), the company got in touch with the finance minister's son Karti to help resolve the issue.
Quoting the FIR that was filed in 2017, according to a Hindustan Times report, Karti Chidambaram advised INX Media to explain the investment as having been cleared by FIPB and that the excess "foreign inflow was justified as premium received."
In her statement, Indrani had also said that she met Karti in a Delhi hotel and offered $1 million to sort the matter. The two reportedly agreed to settle the amount at Rs 3.5 crore, which was paid to Advantage Strategic, a company Karti owns through a subsidiary.
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