**Maxis and Its Ex-Director Summoned by Delhi Court in Corruption Case**
*By Dwaipayan Roy | Sep 21, 2025, 06:25 PM*
A special court in Delhi has issued fresh summons to Malaysian telecom giant Maxis and its former director, Augustus Ralph Marshall. The summons were issued at the request of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to Maxis’s subsidiary during the tenure of former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.
### Background of the Case
The clearance in question concerns the 2006 takeover of Aircel, where Maxis sought to raise its foreign shareholding in Aircel Ltd from 26% to 73.99% through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Global Communication Services Holdings Limited based in Mauritius.
The CBI alleges that Chidambaram and certain FIPB officials approved the proposal by deliberately underreporting the actual inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indian rupees. This underreporting was purportedly done to keep the FDI amount within Chidambaram’s approval authority as finance minister.
### Additional Summons Issued
Alongside Maxis and Marshall, the CBI has also requested summons for Malaysian media firm Astro All Asia Network. The special court has approved this request, recognizing the international scope of the case. Given the jurisdictional complexities involved in serving summons abroad, the agency has sought a three-month period from the court to complete the process in Malaysia.
### Progression of the Case
The case initially saw a chargesheet filed by the CBI on August 29, 2014, naming former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran and others. However, these accused were discharged by the special court on February 2, 2017. The CBI challenged this discharge in the Delhi High Court through a revision petition.
Subsequently, a second chargesheet was filed on July 19, 2018, against P. Chidambaram and other individuals, which remains pending before the special court.
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This development marks a significant step in the ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities involving foreign investment approvals during Chidambaram’s tenure, highlighting increased scrutiny on FIPB clearance processes related to foreign acquisitions in India.
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/business/maxis-its-ex-director-summoned-in-aircel-maxis-case/story
