BENGALURU: The Enforcement Directorate has reportedly searched the Bengaluru offices of Sequoia Capital India, one of the largest venture capital firms in the country.
The searches were conducted in connection with an inquiry against Chennai-based Vasan Healthcare group in which former finance minister P Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram has an interest.
The searches were held allegedly over violations regarding foreign exchange norms. The venture capital firm is alleged to have misused India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) policy.
The raids were conducted at Vasan Eye Care and Advantage Strategic, a company that is involved in the Aircel-Maxis deal and had allegedly violated FDI norms.
In December 2015 too, the ED and the Income Tax department raided firms linked to former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram in Chennai. The raids were conducted on Vasan and Advantage Strategic, a company that is also involved in the Aircel-Maxis deal. Searches were conducted mainly in Chennai as part of a joint operation by the ED and the Income Tax department. ED was probing the financial transaction between Karti and Aircel just before the company was given approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.
Sequoia Capital, in a mediastatement, denied the searches by the ED had anything to do with the Aircel-Maxis scam.