Indian investigators have quizzed an influential Malaysian businessman over a mega-million-ringgit land deal.
NEW DELHI: A Malaysian, believed to be an influential businessman back home and in the Indian business fraternity, has been questioned by Indian investigators for his alleged link to a mega-million-ringgit land scam in Chennai, which also involved top south Indian politicians.
Yesterday, India’s leading probe agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), queried the Malaysian, believed to be closely linked to immediate past Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi and his daughter, K Kanimozhi, reported the Indian media.
Karunanidhi also heads the Dravida Munnetra Khazhagam’s (DMK), one of two leading political parties in Tamil Nadu.
According to the media, the Malaysian played a leading role in the deal of the 53,000 sq ft plot located on the Ann Malai Road in Chennai, which was taken on lease by a big industrial house for nearly 30 years.
“The Malaysian reportedly managed to obtain the plot from the owners and sold it to a private company just before the (2009) general election,” said the newspaper.
Among others, the CBI is probing why the land was sold to the Malaysian businessman at RM17 million, when the prevailing market price was nearly RM135 million, and whether DMK politicians influenced the land transfer for personal gains.
According to media reports, the Malaysian and an Indian chartered accountant who played a key role, were grilled by CBI for nearly seven hours in Delhi.
Last April, a Kuala Lumpur-based Malaysian “Datuk” was also questioned in connection with the scandal – which rocked the Indian Parliament for months because the exchequer lost billions of dollars in revenue due to the scam.
Kanimozhi, a legislator herself, is being charged by an Indian court for her involvement in the mobile phone licensing scandal or 2G scam, and the land sale, as chunks of funds collected from the sale, were suspected to have been diverted to her party-owned television channel.
Another senior DMK politician who was the previous telecom minister, A Raja, is now in Tihar Jail for awarding the licences to selected corporate firms at very low price in 2008.
On May 13, when the state election results were declared, the then ruling DMK suffered a major setback in the state, wining only 30 of the 234 seats.
Indian political analysts concluded that the 2G scam had an impact on DMK’s poor performance and people of Tamil Nadu clearly wanted to purge dynasty-based politics and the widespread graft in the state.
- Bernama
NEW DELHI: A Malaysian, believed to be an influential businessman back home and in the Indian business fraternity, has been questioned by Indian investigators for his alleged link to a mega-million-ringgit land scam in Chennai, which also involved top south Indian politicians.Yesterday, India’s leading probe agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), queried the Malaysian, believed to be closely linked to immediate past Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi and his daughter, K Kanimozhi, reported the Indian media.
Karunanidhi also heads the Dravida Munnetra Khazhagam’s (DMK), one of two leading political parties in Tamil Nadu.
According to the media, the Malaysian played a leading role in the deal of the 53,000 sq ft plot located on the Ann Malai Road in Chennai, which was taken on lease by a big industrial house for nearly 30 years.
“The Malaysian reportedly managed to obtain the plot from the owners and sold it to a private company just before the (2009) general election,” said the newspaper.
Among others, the CBI is probing why the land was sold to the Malaysian businessman at RM17 million, when the prevailing market price was nearly RM135 million, and whether DMK politicians influenced the land transfer for personal gains.
According to media reports, the Malaysian and an Indian chartered accountant who played a key role, were grilled by CBI for nearly seven hours in Delhi.
Last April, a Kuala Lumpur-based Malaysian “Datuk” was also questioned in connection with the scandal – which rocked the Indian Parliament for months because the exchequer lost billions of dollars in revenue due to the scam.
Kanimozhi, a legislator herself, is being charged by an Indian court for her involvement in the mobile phone licensing scandal or 2G scam, and the land sale, as chunks of funds collected from the sale, were suspected to have been diverted to her party-owned television channel.
Another senior DMK politician who was the previous telecom minister, A Raja, is now in Tihar Jail for awarding the licences to selected corporate firms at very low price in 2008.
On May 13, when the state election results were declared, the then ruling DMK suffered a major setback in the state, wining only 30 of the 234 seats.
Indian political analysts concluded that the 2G scam had an impact on DMK’s poor performance and people of Tamil Nadu clearly wanted to purge dynasty-based politics and the widespread graft in the state.
- Bernama
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