NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday attached assets worth Rs 54 crore of former Union minister P Chidambaram’s son Karti in connection with the INX Media money laundering case. The attached properties are in India, Spain and the United Kingdom.
The agency issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to attach agricultural land, bungalows in Kodaikanal and Ooty in Tamil Nadu and a flat worth Rs 16 crore in South Delhi’s Jor Bagh area. The Delhi flat is jointly owned by Karti and his mother Nalini.
The ED also attached a cottage and house in Somerset, UK and a tennis club in Barcelona, Spain. Their combined value is Rs 23.24 crore. Besides, fixed deposits worth Rs 90 lakh in a Chennai bank, in the name of Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited (ASCPL) were attached.
“ED identified payments of Rs 3.09 crore by (INX boss) Peter Mukerjea to ASCPL and associated entities controlled by Karti P Chidambaram through manipulated debit notes. During investigation, it was admitted that debit notes were raised on the directions of Karti Chidambaram to show some transaction which in fact did not occur,” the ED claimed.
Karti later called it “A bizarre and outlandish provisional attachment order which is not based on law of facts...”
Plush pad
One of the properties (pic) of Karti attached by the Enforcement Directorate. A tennis club in Spain and a cottage and a house in the UK too were attached