Overview
- In an October 29 order, the PMLA Appellate Tribunal dismissed Karti P. Chidambaram’s appeal and let the Enforcement Directorate’s roughly ₹22 crore attachment stand.
- The bench held that the Supreme Court’s pandemic orders excluded March 15, 2020 to February 28, 2022 from limitation, validating the ED’s June 1, 2020 prosecution complaint filed 430 days after confirmation.
- The tribunal rejected reliance on S. Kasi, noting that default‑bail jurisprudence on personal liberty does not control property‑attachment questions under the PMLA.
- Interim status‑quo protections on possession lapse with the appeal’s disposal, yet the ED can take possession only upon showing exceptional reasons in line with Supreme Court guidance.
- Attached assets include a 50% share in a Jor Bagh property valued at about ₹16.05 crore and seven Indian Overseas Bank accounts in Chennai, tied to the INX Media FIPB‑clearance probe originating with a 2016 CBI FIR.