MP Karti Chidambaram Approaches Delhi High Court to Quash FIR

New Delhi: Karti Chidambaram, the son of former Union Minister P. Chidambaram and a Member of Parliament, has approached the Delhi High Court seeking the quashing of an FIR filed against him in a new corruption case. According to the FIR registered against Karti Chidambaram, the alcohol manufacturing company Diageo Scotland and Sequoia Capitals allegedly transferred suspicious funds to Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited.

In this case, the Rouse Avenue Court had granted relief to Karti Chidambaram and directed the CBI to issue a notice three days before his arrest. Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited is controlled by Karti Chidambaram and his associate S. Bhaskar Raman. The FIR alleges that the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) has complete control over duty-free alcohol imports in India and had imposed a ban on Diageo Group’s duty-free alcohol imports in India. To lift the ban, the Diageo Group reportedly contacted Karti Chidambaram and transferred $15,000 to Advantage Strategic Consulting. Diageo Scotland allegedly entered into a fake contract with Karti’s company to facilitate the money transfer.

The FIR states that the money was given to Karti Chidambaram to remove the ban on Diageo Scotland’s alcohol imports because of his influence as a public servant. The money was not provided for any consultancy work. The FIR has been filed under sections 120B, 420, 471 of the Indian Penal Code, and sections 8, 9, and 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.