NEW DELHI: The Special CBI Court on Saturday reserved the order on the issue of taking cognizance on the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet filed against former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi Maran and four others to February 27.
Special CBI Judge O P Saini reserved the order after completing the arguments on the point of summoning Maran brothers, Kalanithi’s wife Kavery Kalanithi, K Shanmugam, Managing Director of South Asia FM Ltd (SAFL), and two firms SAFL and Sun Direct TV Pvt Ltd (SDTPL) as accused in the case. The ED has chargesheeted the six accused under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
During arguments earlier, ED’s special prosecutor N K Matta had claimed that there were money transactions which allegedly showed that SDTPL and SAFL had received Rs 742.58 crore as proceeds of crime from Mauritius-based firms in the Aircel-Maxis deal.
ED had claimed that proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 549.03 crore and Rs 193.55 crore were received by SDTPL and SAFL, allegedly controlled by co-accused Kalanithi Maran, respectively through various Mauritius-based entities.
The agency had referred to the details of money transactions between these firms and alleged that SDTPL had received Rs 549.03 crore from Mauritius-based firm M/s South Asia Entertainment Holding Ltd.
The ED had earlier alleged before the court that Dayanidhi had generated funds worth Rs 742.58 crore through illegal means and there was sufficient prima facie material to proceed against him and other accused in the case.
It had claimed that Dayanidhi had obtained illegal gratification of Rs 742.58 crore and the money was parked in the firms of Kalanithi by projecting it as untainted.
D had also alleged that Kalanithi was controlling both SDTPL and SAFL, where the money was infused through Mauritius-based companies. n August 2014, the CBI too had chargesheeted the Maran brothers, Malaysian business tycoon T Ananda Krishnan, Malaysian national Augustus Ralph Marshall and four companies in the case.