Uproar In Indian Parliament Over Raids Related To Aircel-Maxis Deal

By M. Santhiran NEW DELHI, March 2 (Bernama) -- There was uproar in both Houses of Parliament on Tuesday with a group of opposition MPs demanding the arrest of former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's son over alleged "shady business deals" in 14 countries, including Malaysia. The MPs of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) demanded the arrest of Karti Chidambaram over documents seized by enforcement agencies investigating the Aircel-Maxis issue. The Pioneer, a local daily, initially reported on the raids carried out by officers of the Enforcement Directorate and Investigation Wing of Income Tax authorities of India. According to the report, the investigation seized documents concerning financial transactions between 2006 and 2014 during the raid at Advantage Strategic Consulting, a firm which was also involved in the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2006. Local dailies reported that the deal was carried out when Chidambaram was finance minister, with AIADMK and other political parties from Tamil Nadu demanding a further probe on the deal. The investigative teams expect to contact the 14 countries -- Singapore, the United Kingdom, the UAE, South Africa, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, the British Virgin Islands, France, the USA, Switzerland, Greece and Spain -- on Karti's multi-million business empire. This includes Advantage's acquisition of an apartment worth US$456,969 (RM1.9 million) in Kuala Lumpur where the company also holds franchises of Café Coffee Day, whose coffee outlets are popular in India. However, Karti, who spoke to news channel NDTV, said Advantage "had done a one-off consultancy with Aircel, which they did for a fee of some Rs25 lakh (about US$40,083), that's all. They never held shares in Aircel. "These are all yarns that are being spun over again and again." In a press statement late Tuesday evening, the young businessman said: “One newspaper has made allegations against me, which have been adequately refuted in the past. Myself and my business are fully compliant with all laws and regulations." -- BERNAMA