Karti Chidambaram is married to Srinidhi Rangarajan, a Bharathanatyam dancer and physician who works with the Apollo Hospitals Group in Chennai. They have a daughter, Aditi Nalini Chidambaram.[4] On 3 August 2020, Chidambaram tested positive for COVID-19.[5]
Other activities and memberships
Karti Chidambaram has been associated with tennis for over three decades. He is the Secretary-General of the Indian Tennis Players Association (ITPA). He has held the position of Chairman of the Organising Committee for Chennai Open and was a former vice-president of the All India Tennis Association. He is currently the vice-president for the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association.[6]
He is also the President of the Tenpin Bowling Federation of India and Chief Patron of the All India Karate-Do Federation. He is a member of the inaugural class of the India Leadership Initiative (ILI) of the Aspen Institute, Chairman of the Asia 21 India Chapter of The Asia Society, co-founder of the Chennai Chapter of Young Entrepreneurs Organisation, and co-founder of www.karuthu.com (an "Online Public Opinion Forum").[7]
Chidambaram is alleged to be involved in Aircel-Maxis and Sequoia Capital case.[9] The CBI investigated the role of former finance minister P Chidambaram in the takeover of telecom operator Aircel by Maxis. The investigating body found out that the finance minister and ministry's secretary were to clear an investment of up to Rs 6billion. Maxis' investment in Aircel at the time was Rs. 30billion. Thus, the ministry and FIPB had the legal hand to clear the investment.[10][11]
In April 2015, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched the Bengaluru offices of Sequoia Capital India, the Indian subdivision of a Mauritius-based investment fund, in connection with a probe of Vasan Healthcare Group, which was partly owned by Karti Chidambaram. Sequoia was suspected of abusing India's foreign direct investment policy.[12]
It was reported on 25 August 2015, that the ED had summoned two directors of Advantage, Vishwanath Ravi and C.B.N. Reddy, for questioning in Delhi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. They were interrogated in connection with the Aircel-Maxis case, a corruption scandal that had begun with a 2011 complaint by the owner of Aircel, a communications firm, who said he had been pressured to sell his stake in his company to Maxis, a data firm. The ED said it would later be summoning Karti Chidambaram himself in connection with the case.[13]
In a series of articles published in September and October 2015, the New Indian Express charged that Karti Chidambaram was the secret owner, or perhaps co-owner with his father, of a sprawling international network of companies. On 17 September 2015, the newspaper reported that Advantage had bought shares of Vasan Eye Care at a reduced price and had later sold the shares at a huge profit. Karti Chidambaram's name was mentioned in connection with these transactions. On 21 September, Karti Chidambaram's father denied any association between anyone in his family and Vasan and threatened to sue the newspaper. On 23 October, the Express produced a tax affidavit supporting its claims. In February 2017, Judge OP Saini quashed the Aircel-Maxis case.[12] Special Judge O P Saini said the court has "no hesitation in recording no prima facie case warranting" framing of charges against any of the accused in Aircel Maxis case.[14]
On 1 December 2015, the Income Tax Department and ED raided Vasan's and Chidambaram's offices. The next day, Karti Chidambaram's father said, "We have made it clear, repeatedly, that no member of my family has any equity or economic interest in any of the firms that are being targeted.…I condemn the attempt to link them to my son and harass them on that ground. If the government wants to target me, it should do so directly. My family and I are quite prepared to face the ‘malicious onslaught’ launched by government." On 16 December 2015, the ED seized Karti Chidambaram's laptop and files. He echoed his father's defense, saying, "Neither I nor any of my family members have any connections with the said firms."[15] The ED said it was probing a transaction between Karti Chidambaram and Aircel that had taken place immediately prior to the latter company's approval by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.[12]
On 29 February 2016, the Pioneer newspaper reported that Karti Chidambaram was involved in extensive international business activities, many of them involving various tax havens.[15] Newly discovered documents showed that Karti Chidambaram had "built a massive empire for himself through investments in real estate and other financial dealings across the world." The fresh evidence revealed details of business deals in London, Dubai, South Africa, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, British Virgin Island, France, the US, Switzerland, Greece, and Spain. It was reported that Karti Chidambaram had enriched himself especially from 2006 to 2014, the period when his father was Finance Minister and Home Minister.[16]
It was further revealed that Advantage Singapore, a subsidiary of Advantage, owned the following: 88 acres at Surridge Farm, Somerset; Cambridge-based Artevea Digital Ltd.; a majority stake in Lanka Fortune Residencies, which in turn owned several hotels; three farms and vineyards in South Africa; land in Thailand; part of BVI-based Full Innovations, Ltd.; a residential flat in Malaysia; franchises of Café Coffee Day in Malaysia; a Barcelona-based subsidiary, Advantage Estrategia Esportiva SLU; and a substantial percentage of the Pampelonn Organisation in France.[17]
On 1 March 2016, the upper house of India's parliament, the Rajya Sabha, adjourned after the AIADMK party demanded it take action against Karti Chidambaram for his business activities. On 2 March 2016, Karti Chidambaram repeated his claim that he was neither a shareholder nor a director of Advantage and that he knew nothing about Sequoia. On 19 April 2016, ED raided Sequoia, which had paid Advantage Rs 8,500 per share for 30,000 shares of Vasan that Advantage had acquired at Rs 100 per share. On 26 April 2016, the New Indian Express reported that Advantage had in actuality paid only a third, that is Rs 33 per share, of the recorded Rs 100 per share cost for the shares. It had then sold 60,000 shares of Vasan to Sequoia, taking Rs. 7,500 per share for the first 30,000 shares and an unknown sum for the other 30,000 shares. The ED believed that Karti Chidambaram was at the centre of these transactions.[17]
Also on 26 April 2016, the Express proved that the Chidambarams owned Advantage through what is known as "benami," or front-men, arrangements.[18] The evidence took the form of identical wills, drafted by Karti Chidambaram, signed by four front men, and executed on 19 June 2013, in which the front men left their shares of Advantage to Karti Chidambaram's daughter and named Karti Chidambaram as executor. The wills left 60% of Advantage Strategic to Chidambaram's family, and the rest to Ausbridge Holdings, which at the time owned two-thirds of Advantage. 95% of the shares in Ausbridge had been owned by Karti Chidambaram until 2011, but in that year "the going got hot" and he transferred his shares to Mohanan Rajesh, from whom he had bought Ausbridge. The remainder of the shares in Advantage had been handed over to the four "benamis," or front men: C.B.N. Reddy, Padma Viswanathan, Ravi Viswanathan, and Bhaskararaman.[citation needed]
It was reported on 23 May 2016, that ED had sought information from the UK, UAE, South Africa, US, Greece, Spain, Switzerland, France, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka and British Virgin Islands about properties and transactions of Advantage, Sequoia, WestBridge, and other firms purportedly linked to Karti Chidambaram.[19] On 5 July 2016, Karti Chidambaram failed to appear at the ED in response to a summons in connection with the Aircel-Maxis probe. The ED was investigating alleged violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act on the part of Advantage and Chess Global Advisory Services Pvt Ltd, of which Karti Chidambaram was a director.[18][20]
In June 2017, a 'Look Out Circular' (LOC) was issued by the Bureau of Immigration. The Madras High Court stayed the LOC against Karti Chidambaram stating that the issuance of the circular the day after issuing a summons to him was unwarranted. This was in response to a joint petition by Karti Chidambaram, C.B.N. Reddy, Ravi Visvanathan, Mohanan Rajesh and S. Bhaskararaman, who were all issued the circular. The petition stated that the centre had been pursuing a politically motivated vendetta against the petitioner's family and the issuance of the LOC is the latest in a series of concerted actions by the Central government's agencies to damage the reputation of Karti Chidambaram and discredit his father, P Chidambaram.[21]
In 2017, Karti Chidambaram initiated a campaign against corruption in elections. The campaign was launched in RK Nagar Constituency of Chennai by G67, an organisation of individuals born after 1967. Over 500 volunteers went door-to-door seeking signatures on a pledge to refuse accepting money while voting for a particular party.[23] While the campaign was criticised by some, several opposition party members came out in support of it.[24]
In February 2018, Karti Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI in a money laundering case, where he was accused of receiving Rs. 1million money from a media company for using his influence to manipulate a tax probe against it.[25][26] In March 2018, he applied for bail, and the judge assigned to hear his bail plea, Justice Indermeet Kaur of the Delhi High Court, recused herself from hearing the plea without providing a reason.[27] He was granted bail by a different bench of the Delhi High Court.[28]
In October 2018, the Enforcement Directorate said it has attached assets worth Rs. 54 crore of Karti Chidambaram in India, Spain and the UK in connection with a money laundering case related to INX Media, an action termed "bizarre and outlandish" by him.[29]
In May 2019, Karti approached the Supreme court for return of his amount deposited for travelling abroad. The court however advised him to pay attention to his constituency instead.[30]
In December 2020, he became the most raided person in India.[31][32]
Palaniappan Chidambaram, better known as P. Chidambaram, is an Indian politician and lawyer who currently serves as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. He served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs from 2017 to 2018. He also served as Interim Deputy Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha from 2022 to 2023 under Mallikarjun Kharge.
Vallinayagam Olaganathan Chidambaram Pillai was an Indian freedom fighter, lawyer, businessman and politician. He founded the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company in 1906 to compete against the monopoly of the British India Steam Navigation Company (BISNC). He launched the first indigenous Indian shipping service between Tuticorin in British India and Colombo in Ceylon. Once a member of the Indian National Congress, he was later charged with sedition by the British government and sentenced to life imprisonment, and his barrister license was revoked. He is known by the epithet Kappalottiya Tamizhan. Tuticorin Port Trust, one of India's thirteen major ports, is named after him.
Aircel Ltd. was an Indian mobile network operator headquartered in Mumbai that offered voice and 2G and 3G data services. Maxis Communications held a 74% stake and Sindya Securities and Investments held the remaining 26%. Aircel was founded by Chinnakannan Sivasankaran and commenced operations in Tamil Nadu in 1999. It was once a market leader in Tamil Nadu and had considerable presence in Odisha, Assam and North-East telecom circles. 2G and 3G Services including voice were shut down in all circles after failure of merger talks with Reliance Communications.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) was a national agency of Government of India, with the remit to consider and recommend foreign direct investment (FDI) which does not come under the automatic route. India attract net inward foreign direct investment amounting to USD 30.76 billion during the fiscal year ended March 2014, a 14.13% increase compared to the previous fiscal year. acted as a single window clearance for proposals on foreign direct investment (FDI) in India. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) was housed in the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. FIPB was abolished on 24 May 2017, as announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during 2017-2018 budget speech in Lok Sabha.
Chanda Kochhar is an Indian banker. She was the managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Bank from 2009 to 2018 She resigned from her positions in 2018 due a case of conflict of interest. Subsequently, she was fired by ICICI Bank, a decision which was later upheld by the Supreme Court of India.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is a law enforcement and economic intelligence agency of the Government of India. Established on 1 May 1956, it is responsible for enforcing economic laws and combating financial crimes. The ED operates under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, with its headquarters in New Delhi.
Nimmagadda Prasad is an Indian industrialist from Andhra Pradesh, India. He is known for his ventures in the Pharmaceutical and Television industries, and is involved in philanthropic activities through Nimmagadda Foundation.
The Adarsh Housing Society is a 31-story building constructed on prime real estate in Colaba, Bombay, for the welfare of war Widows and personnel of India's Ministry of Defence. Over a period of several years, politicians, bureaucrats and military officers allegedly conspired to bend several rules concerning land ownership, zoning, floor space index and membership getting themselves flats allotted in this cooperative society at below-market rates.
The 2G spectrum case was a political controversy in which politicians and private officials of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition government India were allegedly involved in selling or allotting 122 2G spectrum licenses on conditions that provided an advantage to specific telecom operators. A. Raja, then Telecom Minister, was accused of selling 2G spectrum licenses at a very low cost which resulted in the loss of ₹1,760 billion in government revenue. Raja was also accused of not following rules and regulations as well as not recognizing any advice from the Ministries of Finance and Law and Justice of India while allotting 2G spectrum licenses to telecom operators. Series of allegations were made on allotting 2G spectrum licenses including allegations from Central Bureau of Investigation after investigating the case alleging Raja for intentionally advancing the cut-off date to favour some specific firms, which were allegedly ineligible for applying for telecom licenses, in return for bribes.
Vasan Healthcare Group is a healthcare group in India. Founded by A. M. Arun, the group is based in Trichy and has more than 170 eye care hospitals in India and 27 dental hospitals across 4 states in South India. The company also operates two multi-speciality hospitals in Trichy. Vasan Eye Care Hospitals serve as day-care centres in the treatment of eye ailments. They started their first hospital in Kozhikode, Kerala, in 2010. The corporate office of the hospital is located in Chennai.
Also referred to as the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, the Indian helicopter bribery scandal by Congress led UPA Government refers to a multimillion-dollar corruption case in India, wherein money was paid to middlemen and Indian officials in 2006 and 2007 to purchase helicopters for high level politicians. As per the CBI, this amounted to ₹2.5 billion (US$29 million), transferred through bank accounts in the UK and UAE.
Kanwar Deep Singh, also known as K. D. Singh, is an Indian businessman turned politician and Member of Parliament (MP), Rajya Sabha representing the All India Trinamool Congress, but first elected to the Indian parliament as a nominee of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. He is the founder and the former chairman of the Indian business group called Turbo Industries, whose name was changed and rebranded as the Alchemist Group in 2004. He was elected to lead the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) between 2013 and 2014.
Satyendar Kumar Jain is an Indian politician who is member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and a former Cabinet Minister in the Government of Delhi led by Arvind Kejriwal. Jain is an architect by profession. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in May 2022 and has been his custody since on allegations of money laundering, 9 months after which he submitted his resignation for the portfolios he held as a minister. He has spent more than 2 years in jail without bail or a trial or conviction.
J. Gopikrishnan is an Indian journalist who wrote a series of reports, exposing the 2G case. He was awarded the Ramnath Goenka Journalist of the Year Award for print in 2009.
Indrani Mukerjea is an Indian-born British former HR consultant and media executive, a main accused murderer in her daughter’s case. She was the wife of Peter Mukerjea, a retired Indian television executive. In 2007, she co-founded INX Media with her ex-husband, where she took on the role of CEO. In 2009, she resigned from the company and later sold her stake in it. In August 2015, she was arrested by Mumbai Police and charged as the main accused in the alleged murder of her daughter, Sheena Bora. After more than six years in custody, she was released on bail, and the murder case remains pending.
C. Vijayabaskar is an Indian politician from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Party (AIADMK), and the Health minister of Tamil Nadu from 2013 to 2021. He is a member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly for the Viralimalai constituency, from where he won elections in 2011, 2016 and 2021. He was previously elected from Pudukkottai constituency in 2001.
Amnesty International India was a country unit of the Amnesty International network, and was part of a global movement promoting and defending human rights and dignity. In September 2020, Amnesty halted its operations in the country after all bank accounts of the organization were frozen by Enforcement Directorate in connection with its money laundering probe into the finances of Amnesty International and its related entities. The organization called this 'witch hunting' while the government of India said the case is based on a FIR filed by CBI against Amnesty for alleged violation of the Foreign Contributions Regulatory Act
The NSE co-location scam relates to the market manipulation at the National Stock Exchange of India, India's leading stock exchange. Allegedly select players obtained market price information ahead of the rest of the market, enabling them to front run the rest of the market, possibly breaching the NSE's purpose of demutualisation exchange governance and its robust transparency-based mechanism. The alleged connivance of insiders by rigging NSE's algo-trading and use of co-located servers ensured substantial profits to a set of brokers. This widespread market fraud came to light when markets' regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), received the first anonymous complaint through a whistle-blower's letter in January 2015. The whistle-blower alleged that trading members were able to capitalise on advance knowledge by colluding with some exchange officials. The overall default amount through NSE's high-frequency trading (HFT) is estimated to be ₹500 billion over five years.
The INX Media case refers to an ongoing high-profile money laundering investigation in India. It involves allegation of irregularities in foreign exchange clearances given to INX Media group for receiving overseas investment in 2007. P. Chidambaram was union finance minister at the time. His son Karti Chidambaram has been implicated by the investigating agencies.
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