New Delhi: It's been labelled the biggest scam in India's history. The loss to the national exchequer is pegged by the government auditor at a mind-boggling Rs. 1.76 lakh crore. The 2G scam has already seen a Cabinet minister, an MP, corporate bigwigs - some of the biggest names in the telecom industry - going to jail.
The prime accused in the case is former Telecom Minister A Raja, who the CBI has described as the mastermind of the scam. He stands accused of under-valuing spectrum as the country's Telecom Minister and selling it to companies he favoured, though they were largely ineligible for licenses to run mobile networks. Though the spectrum scam had loomed over his ministry since the sale of 2G frequency to telecom operators in 2008, it was in November 2010 that Mr Raja finally exited the government. What pushed him through the out-door was a report by the government's auditor. He had to resign in much ignominy and just two months later, on February 2 this year, he was arrested. Mr Raja faces charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery under the IPC and abuse of official position and corruption charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
But Mr Raja claims he only followed government policy, one approved by the Prime Minister and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram. His lawyer has also told the court that he might summon the PM as a witness in the case to prove that there was no loss.
The long list of the accused in the case includes DMK MP and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi, who too has been in jail since May 20 this year. Also in jail are former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura and Raja's former personal secretary RK Chandolia. They also face charges of conspiracy, cheating, and abusing official position.
High-profile corporate honchos facing charges in the case are - Sanjay Chandra, Former MD, Unitech Wireless; Shahid Balwa, Promoter of DB Realty and Swan Telecom; Vinod Goenka, Promoter and MD, DB Realty and Swan Telecom; Gautam Doshi, Group MD, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG); and Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara, Senior Vice Presidents, ADAG. Most face charges of cheating and criminal conspiracy. Shahid Balwa has also been charged with bribing a public servant, while Sanjay Chandra has only been charged with criminal conspiracy. They were arrested on April 20 this year.
Telecom companies Swan Telecom, Reliance Telecom and Unitech Wireless have been named in the chargesheet. The CBI says Swan and Unitech were granted licenses despite being ineligible.
These high profile individuals and companies were named in the first chargesheet on April 2. Then, another supplementary chargesheet was filed on April 25. This chargesheet named Ms Kanimozhi, Kalaignar TV MD Sarath Kumar, Directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Asif Balwa and Rajeev Aggarwal, Promoter of Cineyug Films Karim Morani. They too face charges of cheating and criminal conspiracy. Kanimozhi and Sarath Kumar have also been charged with taking a bribe.
The CBI claims it has uncovered the money trail involving Swan telecom. It says Swan paid a bribe of Rs. 200 crore to DMK-owned Kalaignar TV through a maze of subsidiaries in exchange for the 2G spectrum and licenses.
Kanimozhi has been named the active brain behind Kalaignar TV. The DMK MP has denied the charges against her saying she was not involved in the day to day functioning of the channel and that the money in question was only a loan, duly returned with interest. The CBI has rubbished that defence.
The CBI says it has "prima facie evidence" against all the accused, enough to proceed with trial. The CBI alleges that the scam caused a loss of Rs. 30,984.55 crore to the exchequer.
But the investigating agency has received some setbacks recently. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has said in court that it had never recommended an auction for the 2G spectrum and that it was not possible to quantify losses. The accused insist this supports their case and weakens the CBI's charges. They claim the case does not withstand legal scrutiny as the Prime Minister and the present Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal too were on record that the state did not incur any loss.
In another major jolt to the CBI, the Law Ministry gave its opinion that Swan cannot be termed an associate of Reliance Telecom. The CBI, in its chargesheet, has described Swan as a front for Reliance. The chargesheet says Swan was set up "out of the funds of Reliance" to allow Anil Ambani's company to access more spectrum and resources than was legally allowed for a single company.
Also, the Central Board of Direct Taxes says Swan and Unitech never sold their licenses to their foreign partners and that the sale of equity was above board. Equally interesting is the CBI's own admission, that it has found no money trail in the case of Unitech. In April, the CBI had told the court that Unitech "fraudulently concealed critical information" to disguise the fact that it was ineligible for a license.
A Delhi court is expected to pronounce today its order on framing of charges against the accused in the scam. Special CBI judge O P Saini, who heard arguments on behalf of the accused and the CBI for over a month on day-to-day basis, had reserved order on August 29.
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