Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided Sequoia Capital’s offices in Bengaluru on Monday evening in connection with a larger probe into Vasan Healthcare Pvt. Ltd.

The US-based venture capital (VC) firm is a minority investor in Vasan Healthcare.

An ED official confirmed that a raid took place but did not share details.

Sequoia confirmed the raid. In a statement on Tuesday, the investment firm said, “Sequoia Capital India has fully supported the regulatory investigation, has adopted a policy of complete transparency and full compliance with that investigation, and continues to dutifully respond to all inquiries received to date. During the course of this investigation, the Sequoia Capital India team has met ED officials multiple times and has answered every query placed before us. We adopted the same approach yesterday during the ED visit to our offices."

Sequoia denied that the ED raid had anything to do with the Aircel–Maxis case, tied to allegations that former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran forced Aircel owner C. Sivasankaran to transfer his ownership to the Malaysia-based Maxis Communications Bhd in 2006.

According to investigators, the Malaysian company, in return, invested in Dayanidhi’s brother Kalanithi Maran’s Sun Direct— the direct-to-home TV arm of his Sun TV Network Ltd.

“Contrary to media reports, Sequoia Capital India has absolutely no association with companies like Aircel or Maxis. Our only connection to the ED visit is that Sequoia Capital India is a minority investor in Vasan," said Sequoia in the statement.

A.M. Arun, founder of Vasan Healthcare, couldn’t be reached on the phone.

The ED raid at Sequoia’s office should be read in the context of Vasan’s alleged association with Karti Chidambaram, the son of former Union minister P. Chidambaram.

“I have no idea about the company (Sequoia Capital) that you’re mentioning. And I can’t comment anything about it," Chidambaram said on Tuesday.

In February 2009, Sequoia invested ₹ 50 crore in Vasan Healthcare and in October 2010, the venture capital firm reached out to Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt. Ltd—a firm in which Karti Chidambaram was director —to buy out its equity stake in the company.

Advantage sold a partial stake (30,000 of the 150,000 shares it held in the company) to Sequoia at ₹ 7,500 per share—a significant premium, considering that Advantage had acquired the shares at ₹ 100 apiece, Mint reported on 22 January.

Karti Chidambaram denied any involvement in the case when contacted at the time.

“Sequoia Capital India has been closely following recent developments regarding Vasan Healthcare. These developments include allegations of wrongdoing by Vasan Healthcare and a related governmental investigation. Investment funds associated with Sequoia Capital India hold a minority interest in Vasan Healthcare and have always advocated that Vasan Healthcare operate entirely within the law," Sequoia had earlier told Mint.

V.T. Bharadwaj, a managing director of Sequoia Capital India Advisors Pvt. Ltd, had served as Sequoia Capital India’s designee on the Vasan Healthcare board of directors.

In September 2015, The New Indian Express reported that Vasan was used to route money to Chidambaram and his family and that Vasan was partly owned by Advantage Strategic—which in turn was owned by Ausbridge Holdings and Investments Pvt. Ltd, a company where Karti Chidambaram was a director.

On 25 March 2011, Ausbridge Holdings bought a 66% share (200,000 shares) in Advantage Strategic, according to a filing with the Registrar of Companies.

In December last year, officials of the income-tax department and the ED raided the premises of some of Karti Chidambaram’s businesses.

Dharani Thangavelu in Chennai, and Ashish K. Mishra and P.R. Sanjai in Mumbai contributed to this story.

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