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Chidambaram, Sanjay Krishna named in CBI chargesheet

By SPL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI, July 19 - The CBI today filed a supplementary chargesheet in the Aircel-Maxis deal case naming former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, his son Karti Chidambaram and Assam�s Additional Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna as accused.

Special CBI judge OP Saini has fixed it for considering on July 31. Former Chairman of FIPB Ashok Jha, former Additional Secretary of Finance Ashok Chawla and former Joint Secretary of Finance Kumar Sanjay Krishna have been named as accused in the chargesheet, sources said.

Former Under Secretary in FIPB Ram Sharan, former Aircel executives T Anand Krishnan and Augustus Ralph Marshall were also named in the chargesheet, sources said, adding, Bhaskar Raman, chartered accountant of P Chidambaram is also an accused.

Moreover, seven companies have also been named in the CBI chargesheet. These include Karti Chidambaram�s company Chess Management Services, Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited, Astro All Asia Networks, Maxis Mobile, and Malaysia- based Armada Berhar Navigation Limited.

PTI adds: The CBI was conducting probe as to how Chidambaram, who was the Finance Minister in 2006, granted Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval to a foreign firm when only the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) was empowered to do it.

The senior Congress leader�s role had come under the scanner of investigating agencies in the Aircel-Maxis deal of Rs 3,500 crore and INX Media case involving Rs 305 crore.

In its chargesheet filed earlier in the case against former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi Maran and others, the CBI had alleged that Chidambaram had granted FIPB approval in March 2006 to Mauritius-based Global Communication Services Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary of Maxis.

The Maran brothers and other accused, who were listed in the CBI chargesheet earlier, were discharged by the special court which had said that the agency had failed to produce any material against them to proceed with the trial.

The CBI had alleged in the chargesheet against the Marans that Global Communication Services Holdings Ltd had sought FIPB approval for USD 800 million for which only the CCEA was competent, but Chidambaram had given approval to the firm in March 2006.

It had claimed that the Finance Minister was competent to accord approval on project proposals of up to Rs 600 crore and proposals beyond this required the approval of the CCEA.

The Enforcement Directorate is also probing a separate money laundering case in the Aircel-Maxis deal in which Chidambaram and Karti have been questioned by the agency. Both Chidambaram and Karti have denied the allegations levelled against them by the CBI and ED.

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