Karti Chidambaram is an Indian politician and businessman. He is the son of the prominent Indian politician P. Chidambaram.
Wiki/Biography
Karti Chidambaram was born on Tuesday, 16 November 1971 (age 49 years; as of 2020) Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu. He received his primary education from the Don Bosco School of Excellence, Egmore, Chennai. He pursued Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from the University of Texas, Austin, U.S.A in 1993. He then took admission in the University of Cambridge in 1995 to pursue Bachelor of Laws.
Since childhood, he loves playing lawn tennis. He regularly plays and participates in many tennis competitions and has won many of them. Karti is the Vice-President of the “Tamil Nadu Tennis Association”. He has also been the Vice-President of the “All India Tennis Association”.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 11″
Weight (approx.): 90 kg
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Hair Colour: Black
Family, Caste, and Wife
Karti Chidambaram belongs to the Nagarathar Caste (also known as Chettiar). [1] His father, P. Chidambaram, is a prominent Indian politician. His mother, Nalini Chidambaram, is an advocate. He is married to Srinidi Rangarajan, a Bharatnatyam dancer and a Physician at Apollo Hospitals. They have a daughter, Aditi Nalini Chidambaram.
Karti Chidambaram with his father P. Chidambaram
Karti Chidambaram with his Mother (right), Wife (left), and Daughter (centre)
Business Career
Karti returned to India in 1996 after completing his studies. His father, P. Chidambaram, wanted him to join his law firm, but Karti joined a company named “Manali Petrochemicals Ltd.” on an executive position. He has always been interested in doing business, and soon, he started many companies. He owns several companies in India and abroad.
Political Career
When Karti returned from the UK, his father had left the Indian National Congress, and he had started his party, the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC). He joined the party as a member, and he used to serve as his father’s election manager. He contested the 2014 General Elections from the Sivaganga Constituency of Tamil Nadu, but he lost. In 2019, he contested the Lok Sabha elections again from the Sivaganga Constituency of Tamil Nadu and won. He was elected as an MP in the 17th Lok Sabha.
Controversies
- In May 2012, he was blamed for having links to a firm named “Advantage Strategic Consulting”, which was involved in illegal financial transactions.
- In November 2014, EVKS Elangovan, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee Chief, lashed out at him for sharing the party’s internal issues with the media.
- In January 2015, Karti praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his political acumen. The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee criticized him heavily for his statement.
- In April 2015, a firm partly owned by Karti, “Vasan Healthcare Group”, was being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Reportedly, the firm was violating India’s foreign direct investment policy and providing illegal help to a Mauritius-based investment firm named, Sequoia Capital India.
- In August 2015, the ED summoned him in connection with the Aircel-Maxis case.
Karti Chidambaram summoned by the ED
- In December 2015, the ED and the Income Tax Department raided his offices to investigate the Aircel-Maxis deal transactions. While investigating the Aircel-Maxis deal, they also found documents which linked to transactions from “INX Media” on his CA’s laptop.
- In February 2016, the Pioneer newspaper reported about his involvement in various international business activities and transactions, many of which were involved in tax havens.
Karti Chidambaram in the Pioneer Newspaper
- In April 2016, the New Indian Express alleged that he owned the firm “Advantage Strategic Consulting” through several front-men (Benami).
- On 16 May 2017, the CBI booked Karti Chidambaram for cheating, corruption, and for violating India’s FDI policy.
Karti Chidambaram taken into custody
- On 28 February 2018, he was arrested by a special team of the CBI’s Economic Offences Wing at the Chennai Airport. He was accused of several illegal transactions and receiving kickbacks from “INX Media” after foreign direct investments of 305 Crores INR were granted to INX Media by P. Chidambaram.
- On 11 October 2018, the ED captured many of Karti’s properties in India, UK, and Spain. The ED stated that the properties were worth 54 Crores INR and were connected to the “INX Media” money laundering case.
Karti Chidambaram called in for questioning in the INX Media case
Signature
Assets & Properties
Cash: 3.54 Lacs INR
Bank Deposits: 6.60 Crores INR
Jewellery: 40 gms Gold worth 1.22 Lacs INR and a 3-carat diamond worth 90,000 INR
Agricultural Land: worth 3.60 Crores INR in South Coorg, Karnataka
Commercial Building: worth 95.48 Lacs INR in Chennai
Commercial Building: worth 2.28 Crores INR in Cambridge, UK
Residential Building: worth 16.05 Crores INR in Jor Bagh, New Delhi
Salary & Net Worth
Salary: 1 Lac INR + other allowances (as a Lok Sabha Member)
Net Worth: 79.37 Crores INR (as in 2019)
Facts
- Karti Chidambaram likes reading books and playing lawn tennis. He is also the Secretary-General of the Indian Tennis Players Association (ITPA).
- Controversies have been running parallel since the start of Karti’s business ventures.
Karti Chidambaram being taken for questioning
- Whenever he is questioned by the media about his and his father’s involvement in the “Aircel-Maxis” deal and the “INX Media” case, he has always replied that the charges are false, and they are being targeted due to a political vendetta by the BJP.
This is a political witch-hunt. Outrageous media leaks are the preferred tactics of the @dir_ed I have nothing to do with INX or the FIPB. All my assets and liabilities are duly declared in statutory and regulatory filings. I have repeated this ad nauseam https://t.co/jBmkrxLNeX
— Karti P Chidambaram (@KartiPC) August 21, 2019
