Fresh trouble may be brewing for former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram as the Law Ministry has given its nod to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to prosecute him in the INX media case. His son Karti Chidambaram has already been charged in the case.

Top government sources told India Today TV that CBI had earlier sought the ministry's opinion to move again Chidambaram in the case after presenting all the collected evidence in the case.

CBI asked whether it could charge the former finance minister in a cheating and money laundering case.

The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday (January 25) had told the Delhi High Court that custodial interrogation of the veteran Congress leader was required in the INX media case.

The CBI has already got a go ahead from the Central Government to prosecute P Chidambaram in Aircel Maxis case.

The recent development will surely add to the veteran leader's problems.

What is INX media case?

The INX Media case involves the company receiving a foreign investment of over Rs 300 crore and a clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

CBI sources say that the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), in a meeting on 18 May 2007, recommended the FDI proposal of the firm INX media but it did not approve a 26% "downstream investment" in INX News Pvt Limited, as per the FIPB regulations

INX Media was permitted to get only Rs 4.62 crore. But the firm raised FDI worth Rs 305 crores at a premium of over Rs 800 per share.

An FIR filed by the CBI on May 15, 2017 alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007 when P Chidambaram was the Finance Minister in the UPA government.

INX Media was once owned by Peter and Indrani Mukherjea, prime suspects in the money laundering case. Karti is connected to the INX Media bribery case regarding various clearances given to the company.

Also Read | Aircel-Maxis case: What did Chidambaram do?

According to the investigative agencies, INX Media showed a transaction of Rs 10 lakh named against Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd, a firm which is allegedly indirectly owned by Karti, as management consultancy charges towards an FIPB notification and clarification.

It has been alleged that Karti Chidambaram took money from INX Media and used his influence and power to manipulate a tax probe against the company regarding a case of violation of FIPB conditions to get investments from Mauritius.

The Central Bureau of Investigation in February 2018 had arrested Karti Chidambaram in the case. He was arrested at the Chennai Airport upon his return from London. CBI claimed that Karti has been evasive and was refusing to respond to queries made over a period of time.

CBI also claimed it recovered a lot of evidence indicating that Karti accepted bribes.

In December last year, ED had grilled P Chidambaram in the money laundering case. The former finance minister was summoned by the agency to join the investigation. His son Karti Chidambaram was also questioned by the agency.

The father-son duo was earlier granted interim protection from arrest by the court. P Chidambaram has consistently maintained that the entire case against him is a political vendetta by the NDA government.