CBI raids Karti Chidambaram’s office on Sohna Road in Gurgaon

Sleuths raid former finance minister P Chidambaram’s son Karti’s Chess Management Services Private Limited office on Sohna Road in Gurgaon as part of nationwide operation taken in connection with alleged favours granted in foreign investment clearance to INX Media in 2007

As part of nationwide raids on former finance minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram’s offices, a team of CBI sleuths raided the office of Chess Management Services Private Limited on Sohna Road in Gurgaon on Tuesday. The company deals in legal compliance and audit business. The investigation agency confirmed the firm was connected to Karti.

CBI raids Karti Chidambaram’s office in Gurgaon. (Lakshaman Kuchii/HT Photo)

The firm’s office is located on the first floor of JMD Megapolis, a large commercial building in Sector 48 on Sohna Road. Sources said the raid that started at 10 am continued till late afternoon. A CBI official said the raid was underway in connection with certain kickbacks.

The searches were in connection with the alleged favours granted in foreign investment clearance to INX Media in 2007. The CBI has formally named Chidambaram’s son Karti as one of those accused of criminal conspiracy, cheating, seeking to influence a public servant and criminal misconduct in a 2007 sale of stakes in a company called INX Media to offshore entities.

Chess Management Services Private Limited has its corporate office in Gurgaon and registered office at Besant Nagar in Chennai. The company has a 56-member team of lawyers, CAs and other professionals and provides legal services, sets up compliance systems, besides dealing in providing statutory, regulatory, transactional, contractual and corporate governance related compliance requirements and audits.

The company website states A Palaniappan and MR Prasanna as Managing Director and Director respectively.

An eyewitness working on the same floor said that they were unaware that the company belonged to a big shot. “It was a normal office where people came, worked and left in the evening. However, every Friday, a priest used to come and carry out pooja,” he said.

The CBI officials who conducted the raid said that they were unauthorised to speak to the media and information would be made available from the headquarters in Delhi. Earlier in the day, Gurgaon went into a tizzy after news started pouring that CBI and income tax officials were raiding establishments connected to former finance minister P Chidambaram and former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav.