New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has placed before a Delhi court the prosecution sanction it has obtained to proceed against former Union minister and senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram in the 2012 Aircel-Maxis money laundering case, in a move to revive the stalled trial.
In its prosecution complaint, the ED has named Chidambaram and his son, Karti Chidambaram, a Lok Sabha MP, as accused, alleging that foreign investment approvals were granted in exchange for a Rs 1.16 crore bribe routed through companies linked to Karti.
The development comes even as the trial in the case remains stalled as Chidambaram has secured a favourable order from the Delhi High Court, which stayed the trial proceedings against him.
On the other hand, the High Court has put the arguments on framing of charges before the trial court in abeyance, as it has been hearing Karti’s plea raising a question as to whether charges can be framed in a money laundering case before the similar development in a predicate offence.
A predicate offence is a base case registered by any law enforcement agency, such as state police or the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The particular money-laundering case stems from a CBI case registered in 2011 against former Minister for Communications and Information Technology Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi Maran, Ralph Marshall, the Director of Malaysia-based Maxis Communications.
The need for prior prosecution sanction for prosecuting public servants under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act came into effect following a November 2024 Supreme Court judgment in a case involving civil servants from Andhra Pradesh.
Citing the judgment of the apex court, Chidambaram had moved the Delhi High Court to challenge the trial court’s cognisance of the ED’s prosecution complaint.
“The Prosecution Sanction Order has been placed before the Hon’ble Special Court, Rouse Avenue by ED to expedite the trial in the case. dated 10.02.2026 for prosecuting Shri. P. Chidambaram, the then Union Finance Minister in respect of the offence of money laundering,” an agency spokesperson said Thursday.
The spokesperson further said that the agency has decided to seek prosecution sanctions in all money laundering cases involving public servants to counter delays in trial proceedings and to comply with the apex court judgment.
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Aircel-Maxis case
The entire saga of the Aircel-Maxis can be traced back to 2011, when the CBI booked the Maran brothers and Maxis Director, alleging that Dayanidhi abused his official position and deliberately delayed the grant of licences in seven telecom circles to force Aircel Televentures Limited (Aircel) out of the telecom market.
In its charge sheet, the CBI alleged that Maran, as the telecom minister, coerced C. Sivasankaran, who owned a majority stake in Aircel at the time, to sell his stake to Maxis Communication.
After the change of ownership, the ministry, under Maran, promptly cleared all stuck permissions and clearances in exchange for investment in the firms of his brother, Kalanithi Maran, to the tune of Rs 549 crore, it has been alleged.
The Maran brothers were later discharged by the court in 2017.
However, at the time of filing the chargesheet, the CBI alleged that it was probing the approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for the acquisition of three firms at a cost of USD 800 million.
The agencies have alleged that Chidambaram, as finance minister, approved the transactions despite having authority to approve FDI proposals only up to Rs 600 crore.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs was the competent authority for approval of such a high-value deal, the CBI alleged in the chargesheet.
Chidambaram, in the capacity of finance minister, approved the transactions in exchange of bribes to his son, routed through his firms, the ED alleged in its prosecution complaint.
“Investigation has revealed that illegal gratification of Rs. 1.16 crores was received by Karti P. Chidambaram in his companies M/s Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt. Ltd. (ASCPL) and M/s Chess Management Services Pvt. Ltd. (CMSPL). Investigation has revealed financial transactions between P Chidambaram and his son Karti P. Chidambaram. Investigation has also revealed that funds of ASCPL have also been spent for and on behalf of P. Chidambaram,” the ED spokesman said Thursday.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Also Read: ED’s Aircel-Maxis case, Chidambaram’s challenge & what Delhi HC said while staying trial proceedings