New Delhi: An appellate tribunal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has dismissed Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram’s appeal challenging the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) attachment of his properties and bank accounts in connection with the INX Media case, Bar and Bench reported.
The ED had attached several of Chidambaram’s bank accounts and his share in a South Delhi property in October 2018. The adjudicating authority upheld the attachment a year later.
The case relates to alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board’s approval of foreign direct investment to INX Media in 2007, during the tenure of P Chidambaram, Karti’s father, as Union finance minister. Investigators allege that Karti used his father’s position to influence the approval process and received kickbacks of ₹10 lakh.
Karti Chidambaram argued that the ED’s prosecution complaint was filed more than 365 days after the confirmation of attachment, violating Section 8(3)(a) of the PMLA. He contended that the delay warranted the release of the attached assets, Bar and Bench reported.
However, the ED cited Covid-19 restrictions as the reason for the delay, referencing Supreme Court directions that excluded the period between March 15, 2020, and February 28, 2022, from judicial timelines, Bar and Bench reported.
In its ruling on Wednesday, the tribunal acknowledged the delay but accepted the ED’s explanation, noting that pandemic-related constraints had hindered investigation efforts, The Hindu reported. “The enormity of the situation for the Investigating Officer to have completed the investigation during the period of lockdown, when he was not even authorised to visit the witnesses or record their statements needs to be appreciated,” Bar and Bench quoted the bench as saying.
While dismissing the appeal, the tribunal stated that the ED could take possession of the attached properties only under “exceptional reasons”.
The Central Bureau of Investigation had registered an FIR in the case on May 15, 2016, followed by the ED’s money laundering complaint in May 2017. Karti Chidambaram was briefly arrested by the CBI in 2018.