Chennai: A court here today directed sidelined AIADMK leader T T V Dhinakaran to appear before it on October 26 following completion of cross-examination of prosecution witnesses by his counsel in a two-decades-old FERA case.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (Economic Offence-II) Judge S Malarmathy issued the order when the matter came up before her for hearing.

Since August 28, Dhinakaran’s counsel had cross-examined 12 prosecution witnesses.

The Enforcement Directorate had registered the case against Dhinakaran in 1996 charging him with acquiring USD 10.4 million in foreign exchange without obtaining prior permission from the Reserve Bank of India in violation of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA).

According to the ED, he had allegedly deposited the amount in the current account of Dipper Investments Limited, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, and having account with Barclays Bank, Sutton, UK.

Though registered in 1996, the ED could not proceed ahead with the case due to several rounds of litigation.

Dhinakaran was discharged from the case earlier by the lower court, but on February 1 this year, the high court had set it aside allowing a revision petition filed by the ED.