NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday almost immediately rushed to take custody of former union minister P Chidambaram almost immediately after the Delhi High Court rejected his plea for anticipatory bail.
According to sources, the CBI wanted to have a first-mover advantage on the former finance minister as days ago the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had outmanoeuvred it in another case that the two federal agencies were probing.
The one-upmanship between the two agencies was out in the open on Tuesday as a four-member team from the ED visited Chidambaram’s Jor Bagh residence, minutes after a seven-member CBI team left the place empty-handed.
Last week, the CBI had issued summons to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s nephew Ratul Puri in a high-profile bank fraud case.
However, a day after the CBI summons, the ED arrested Puri in the case, leaving the CBI officials red-faced. On Sunday, the CBI had raided six official and residential premises of Moser Baer India Limited and booked Puri and his parents.
In the INX media case, both the ED and the CBI issued a lookout notice against Chidambaram.
The former finance minister is accused of having laundered money and given undue favours to the company, where his son Karti is a shareholder.
The agencies allege that Chidambaram violated guidelines relating to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) while procuring investment from foreign entities.