INX media, a television broadcasting channel, founded in 2007 is a topic of debate now a days in news world. Involving several high profile personnel and a few influential congress politicians too.
And the protagonist in this play is none other than son of one of the senior most leader of country’s largest party. He is Karti Chidambaram, son of former Finance minister P Chidambaram.
Before we move ahead with the roles and actions of various characters and the allegations made,this article will help readers get a clear view of the case.
INX media and the key personnel.
INX media,India’s largest music broadcaster operating 6 music television channels and a Bollywood news portal.
The company was founded by Indrani Mukerjea in 2007 through two companies, INX Media Pvt Ltd and INX News Pvt Ltd.
In March 2009, chairman and chief strategy officer Peter Mukerjea and founder and CEO Indrani Mukerjea left their management roles at INX Media.
In August 2010, INX Media renamed itself 9X Media as part of a restructuring process. It was acquired by Zee Entertainment Enterprises in October 2017 for the cost of ₹160 crore.
INX media case and role of “Chidambarams”.
The started in 2007 when INX Media applied for clearance with the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) on March 15 that year. INX Media had sought this approval in order to operate and broadcast a bouquet of channels including Hindi entertainment channel, and multiple vernacular entertainment channels. According to the CBI, the Board in its meeting on 18 March, 2007 approved an FDI inflow of Rs 4.62 crore against INX Media. It did not, however, approve the downstream investment by INX Media in INX News.
As per the CBI’s FIR, “INX Media (P) Limited deliberately and in violation of the conditions of the approval (i) made a downstream investment to the extent of 26% in the capital of INX News (P) Limited without the specific approval of FIPB which included indirect foreign investment by the same foreign investors and (ii) generated more than Rs 305 crores Foreign Direct Investment in INX Media (P) Limited against the approved foreign inflow of Rs 4.62 crores…”
Months later, in May 2008, FIPB issued a letter to INX Media seeking clarification on both issues.
This is when Karti Chidambaram, whose father is now former and then Finance minister comes into the picture, alleges the CBI.
Based on clarifications suggested by Chess Management Services, whose promoter is Karti, INX Media replied to FIPB’s letter “justifying their actions”. Furthermore, CBI alleges that owing to Karti’s influence, the concerned officers and officials of the Board not only ignored the violations on the part of INX Media but also advised the group to apply for fresh FIPB approvals. This “deceitful and fallacious” proposal was later approved by the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
A new blast by the INX founder Indrani Mukherjea.
The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested Karti Chidambaram on Wednesday after Indrani Mukerjea – who is jailed in the Sheena Bora murder case and is also an accused in the INX Media case – alleged that then Finance Minister P Chidambaram had asked her and her husband Peter Mukerjea to help his son’s business.
In a statement to the CBI, Indrani Mukerjea alleged that the Mukerjeas and Karti Chidambaram had struck a $1-million (Rs 6.5-crore) deal to get the Foreign Investment Promotion Board’s approval for Foreign Direct Investment in INX Media in 2007.
INX Media has given investigative agencies four invoices, supposedly countersigned by the company’s former director Peter Mukerjea, that purportedly show payments amounting to more than $700,000 (approximately Rs 4. crore) to firms linked to Karti Chidambaram, The Hindu reported. The agencies are now verifying the authenticity of the documents.
The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate said Indrani and Peter Mukerjea had told them that they met P Chidambaram in his North Block office in connection with the foreign investment board’s approval for FDI in INX Media. The agencies alleged that the former finance minister had asked the Mukerjeas to “help the business of his son Karti, and to make foreign remittances for this purpose”.
The Mukerjeas also said they met Karti Chidambaram in Hotel Hyatt in Delhi, where the $1 million-deal was made, the CBI and ED claimed, according to The Indian Express.
P Chidambaram maintains stoic silence all through the case.
Karti Chidambaram, who was directly taken into CBI custody until 6 March as soon as the court pronounced its order, shouted across to the media that he will be vindicated, NDTV reported. Meanwhile, his father P Chidambaram maintained a stoic silence, as media personals hurled questions at him, both on his way in and out to the court.
‘I’ll be vindicated,’ shouts Karti Chidambaram, as his father P Chidambaram maintain silence while all the actions going on throughout the case.
Karti Chidambaram moved the Supreme Court (SC) today challenging the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI probe into matters not mentioned in their FIR, which is to do with allegedly dodgy approvals granted to a company called INX Media.Fresh plea to be heard by supreme court on 6th march,2018.
