It was a holiday at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) headquarters in the capital today. But it quickly turned into a hub of activity as Anil Ambani, chairman of Reliance-ADAG, walked in at around 4 pm.

This was the first time that Ambani was called to the CBI headquarters in connection with the 2G case. Within minutes of Ambani’s arrival, scores of journalists and television news cameramen swarmed the building.

Even as agency officials remained tight-lipped on the reason for his presence, a Reliance-ADAG statement said Ambani met CBI officials “during the course of his weekly visit to New Delhi… to clarify ongoing issues relating to telecom matters for the years 2001 to 2010”.

Ambani travels to Delhi every Wednesday to meet with government officials. Ambani is believed to have met CBI Director AP Singh and other officers.

Ambani, whose business interests range from telecom to media and finance, remained at the CBI headquarters for around three hours. He dodged waiting mediapersons guarding two entrances to the CBI offices, and left the premises by a third gate at around 6.45 pm. An official later said Ambani was escorted out by an investigative officer.

(According to a PTI report, Ambani furnished clarifications on the relationship between Reliance-ADAG’s Reliance Telecom and Swan Telecom, promoted by DB Realty MD Shahid Balwa. Balwa is currently in CBI custody. Swan is under investigation for alleged diversion of funds to DMK-owned Kalaignar TV.)

Swan received a telecom licence under a controversial 2007-08 allotment under former communications minister A Raja, who is also in CBI custody. Reliance Telecom had a stake in Swan, which later offloaded a majority stake to UAE-based Etisalat. Etisalat-Swan also merged with DB Realty.

In its statement, Reliance-ADAG clarified that “neither Reliance Telecom or Reliance Communications nor any Reliance-ADAG individual, company or affiliate held even a single share in Swan Telecom at the time of grant of licence to them in January 2008 or at any time thereafter”.

The CBI is also investigating allegations of ministerial favouritism in dual-technology service licensing. A comptroller & auditor general report of November 2010 noted that the communications ministry allowed some CDMA operators — including Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Communications — to offer GSM services even before the dual-technology policy was made public.

The CBI on Wednesday also questioned Loop Telecom CEO Sandip Basu for a second consecutive day, along with DoT Deputy Director-General A K Srivastava, regarding the award of 2G licences.

source: Business Standard

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