Aircel Maxis case: Karti Chidambaram refuses to appear before CBI

Karti Chidambaram on Thursday refused to appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Aircel Maxis case, his lawyer said.

The agency had called Karti for questioning on Thursday in connection with the foreign investment clearance given in 2006 in the Aircel Maxis deal when his father P Chidambaram was the finance minister.

Karti, through his lawyer, has refused to appear before the agency saying a special court had discharged all the accused in the matter.

"All proceedings connected with the said (case)... were also terminated," the response said.

"The response has been received by the CBI today at 10.30 am through a courier service. The response has also been sent through fax amd email," Karti's lawyer Arun Natarajan said.

It said after the discharge of the accused and "termination" of the proceedings, the CBI will not have jurisdiction to issue a summons in connection with the said case.

According to the CBI charge sheet submitted in a special court, Mauritius-based M/s Global Communication Services Holdings Ltd. a subsidiary of Maxis, had sought approval for an investment of USD 800 million in Aircel.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs was competent to grant the approval.

"However, the approval was granted by the then finance minister. Further investigation is being carried out into the circumstances of the FIPB approval granted by the then finance minister. The related issues are also being investigated," the agency had said in 2014.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy claimed that the former finance minister had given the FIPB clearance to a deal that should have been referred to the CCEA, headed by the prime minister, as it alone was empowered to clear foreign investments of over Rs 600 crore.

P Chidambaram, who was examined by the agency in connection with the case in 2014, had issued a statement this year, saying the FIPB approval was granted in the "normal course of business".