Aircel-Maxis case: CBI court adjourns Maran bail plea

A CBI Special Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing on the bail petitions of former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi Maran and two other accused in the money laundering case of the Aircel-Maxis deal scam.

Special CBI Judge O P Saini posted the case to August 1 after the counsel representing the Enforcement Directory (ED) N K Matta sought more time to prepare its reply to the bail applications.

The Maran brothers along with Kalanithi’s wife Kavery and South Asia FM Ltd (SAFL) Managing Director K Shanmugam had moved the bail petitions before the special CBI court on July 11. The court had issued summons against Maran brothers and other two accused in the case in February.

The former telecom minister, his brother and others are accused of arm-twisting Chennai-based telecom promoter C Sivasankaran to sell the stake in Aircel to Malaysian-based Maxis Group in 2006.

Malaysia-based business tycoon T Ananda Krishnan and Augustus Ralph Marshall, a top executive in the Maxis group, are also accused in the case probed by the CBI.

The agency is considering splitting the case as it struggles to bring the accused foreign nationals and companies to the special court. A second summons had to be issued in December since the first summons could not be served.

The chargesheet filed in January by the ED’s economic offences investigation wing (under the Money Laundering Act) accuses the Maran brothers and Kalanithi’s wife of being involved in laundering of Rs 742.58 crore in the case.

The ED has listed Sun Direct TV Private Limited (SDTPL) and the SAFL as accused in the case, saying they received bribe money meant for Dayanidhi from Mauritius-based companies.

Owned and controlled by Kalanithi, the companies used the proceeds of the crime to further their own business, the ED claimed in its chargesheet.