india

Updated: Aug 20, 2019 01:41 IST

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned former finance minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram in connection with a money-laundering probe into alleged aviation-related financial irregularities during the United Progrtessive Alliance government, officials said on Monday on condition of anonymity.

Chidambaram has been asked to depose before the investigating officer of the case on August 23 to record his statement, the officials said. According to them, he has been summoned to answer some queries related to losses suffered by Air India and Indian Airlines because of an alleged aviation scam that involved the purchase of 111 aircraft amounting to Rs 70,000 crore, and irregularities in allocating air slots to international airlines.

Former aviation minister Praful Patel has been questioned by the agency in connection with these decisions. It now wants to question Chidambaram, saying that he was heading an empowered group of ministers for these deals. The agency wants to know the decision-making process undertaken by the government, othe fficials said.

“As far as I know, this would be summons as a witness, and not as an accused. Therefore, to give evidence and help investigator, which is being unduly sensationalised is nothing but a threshold of a process,” Congress leader and advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said