TAP TO UNMUTE Karti Chidambaram with his father | File image | Photo Credit: PTI

New Delhi: In a massive development in the INX Media case in which Karti Chidambaram was arrested on Wednesday morning, the name of his father and former Union finance minister P Chidambaram has emerged as one of the key players.

Times Now has accessed the Karti Chidambaram case sheet prepared by the Enforcement Directorate, which also has inputs from other investigation agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation. In the case sheet, it is mentioned that Peter and Indrani Mukerjea - both accused in the Sheena Bora murder case – had allegedly named P Chidambaram during interrogation by the ED.

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Peter and Indrani, who used to run the Mumbai-based INX media, now 9X Media, told the ED that they had met P Chidambaram at his office in North Block. The duo allegedly revealed during interrogation that the former finance minister had asked them to help his son's business and to make foreign remittances for this purposes.

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The duo further admitted to having met Karti Chidambaram at Hotel Hyatt in Delhi, where a demand was allegedly made for the illegal gratification of USD 1 million or Rs 6 crores approx.

In fact, Karti allegedly suggested names of Chess Management Services Pvt Ltd and Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd to make the payments as alternatives. Both the companies are supposedly owned by Karti.

Earlier this morning, Karti Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI at Chennai airport in connection with its probe into the INX Media case. 46-year-old Karti was placed under arrest by a CBI team on his return from London. He was put on a Delhi-bound flight and brought to the agency headquarters before being taken to the CBI court for remand purposes.

The CBI had registered an FIR on May 15 last year against alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007 when Chidambaram was the Union finance minister. It is alleged that Karti had received funds to the tune of Rs 10 lakh in the case.

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The CBI alleged that Karti also received money from INX Media to scuttle a tax probe. The firm was owned at the time by Peter and Indrani Mukerjea, both of whom are currently in jail on charges of executing the murder of Indrani's daughter Sheena Bora.

The Enforcement Directorate has also registered a money laundering case.

The CBI and the ED had carried out a series of raids on the houses and offices owned by the Chidambaram family. Karti Chidambaram was questioned several times by the ED. A lookout notice, which prevents a passenger from travelling abroad, was issued against him as the agencies suspected that he would try to close foreign accounts where he had parked the money from the kickbacks. In November, the Supreme Court allowed Karti Chidambaram to go to the UK for his daughter's admission to the Cambridge University.

The CBI is also probing the alleged irregularities in grant of the FIPB clearance to the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2006.

According to the CBI, INX Media clearly states in its records that Rs 10 lakh was given to Advantage Strategic Consulting (P) Limited, a firm "indirectly" owned by Karti, for management consultancy charged towards FIPB notification and clarification.

The FIR also alleges that invoices of approximately Rs 3.5 crore were raised in favour of INX group in the name of other companies in which Karti had substantial interests "directly or indirectly".

The agency has registered an FIR against Karti, his company Chess Management Services, the Mukerjeas, INX Media, Advantage Strategic Consulting Services and its Director Padma Vishwanathan. The allegations levelled by the CBI are based on the information given by "source", the FIR has claimed.

(With PTI inputs)