The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday, 17 May, conducted searches at nearly nine locations (residences and offices) linked to Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram and his son, Karti Chidambaram.
In light of the searches, the former Union minister took to Twitter to say that the "timing of the search is interesting."
The CBI has registered a fresh case against Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram over alleged foreign remittances between 2010 and 2014.
Officials indicate that the MP allegedly aided in granting visas to 250 Chinese nationals for a government project, after receiving illegal payments of Rs 50 lakh.
Nine places in Karnataka, Punjab, Odisha, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu as well as Karti Chidambaram and P Chidambaram's residences in Delhi were searched.
Karti, too, reacted to the searches, and said in a tweet, "I have lost count, how many times has it been? Must be a record."
The CBI reportedly unearthed the case – which dates back to when his father, P Chidambaram, was serving as the Union finance minister – while probing the high-profile INX media corruption case.
What Is the INX Media Case?
The CBI has alleged discrepancies in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance that was given to INX Media for receiving offshore funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007.
It has been alleged that P Chidambaram withheld the FIPB clearance of the transaction until his son received a 5 percent share in the firm.
The MP was previously arrested by the central agency in February 2018, and was granted bail a month after the arrest.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI.)
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