New Delhi:
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has to give its status report on its investigations into the 2G spectrum scam to the Supreme Court today.
In the last hearing, the top court which is monitoring the probe had told the agency that it shouldn't be influenced by Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal's statement rubbishing the CAG report's calculation of the estimated loss from the sale of 2G spectrum.
Sources have told NDTV that the agency may not be able to complete its entire probe into the scam by the 31st of March, as promised to the Supreme Court in September.
The CBI is currently focusing on interrogating former Telecom Minister A Raja, who was arrested eight days ago in connection with the scam which he is alleged to have masterminded. The agency's custody of Raja ends today, but sources say it is likely to ask for more time with Raja so that it can subject both him and another key suspect, Shahid Balwa, to more grilling.
Balwa, the promoter of DB Realty, was arrested from his house in Mumbai on Tuesday in connection with the scam. DB Realty floated Swan Telecom, which Raja allegedly favoured in spectrum allocation.
The CBI is hoping that by questioning the two together, it would be able to establish Raja's link to the money trail in the scam. It managed to do so only for a short while yesterday since Balwa was brought to Delhi last evening only.
The CBI reportedly has evidence from the Income Tax department that Balwa, considered close to Raja, was instrumental in channeling the kickbacks allegedly received by the former Telecom Minister from the sale of 2G spectrum.
If the court does not extend the former Telecom Minister's custody, a crucial opportunity to join the dots in the scam would be lost. CBI sources say it now has evidence that A Raja gave Balwa an undervalued spectrum deal.
The CBI says that in 2008, when the government was allocating 2G spectrum for mobile phone networks, Raja twisted the rules to benefit a few companies - especially Swan and Unitech.
The licenses for 2G spectrum were not auctioned as many say they should have been. Raja chose to follow a first-come-first-served policy which was set by his predecessors. But the CBI's case is based on his office advancing the deadline for payments and informing only some of the players. Companies like Swan and Unitech seemed to have been tipped off to this, because despite the cut-off date being brought forward, they had their payments ready.
After winning their licenses, Swan and Unitech sold equity to foreign companies much before they began the rollout of their services. The giant profits they made seemed to underscore the point that spectrum had been sold far too cheaply by the government.
Swan paid Rs 1537 crore and sold 45% stake to UAE-based Etisalat for a profit of Rs 4, 730 crore. The DB group's telecom arm, earlier known as Swan Telecom, is now known as Etisalat-DB.
According to sources, over Rs 200 crore was allegedly transferred by DB group to Kalaignar TV, owned by the DMK family. But speaking to NDTV, DB Realty denied giving any loan to it directly. The CBI is probing this allegation.
Unitech paid Rs 1661 crores for its license, and sold 60% stake to Telenor for Rs. 6200 crore.
Together, these two players cost the government Rs. 7,195 crore, according to the CBI. Both Swan and Unitech have denied these allegations.
In the last hearing, the top court which is monitoring the probe had told the agency that it shouldn't be influenced by Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal's statement rubbishing the CAG report's calculation of the estimated loss from the sale of 2G spectrum.
Sources have told NDTV that the agency may not be able to complete its entire probe into the scam by the 31st of March, as promised to the Supreme Court in September.
The CBI is currently focusing on interrogating former Telecom Minister A Raja, who was arrested eight days ago in connection with the scam which he is alleged to have masterminded. The agency's custody of Raja ends today, but sources say it is likely to ask for more time with Raja so that it can subject both him and another key suspect, Shahid Balwa, to more grilling.
Balwa, the promoter of DB Realty, was arrested from his house in Mumbai on Tuesday in connection with the scam. DB Realty floated Swan Telecom, which Raja allegedly favoured in spectrum allocation.
The CBI is hoping that by questioning the two together, it would be able to establish Raja's link to the money trail in the scam. It managed to do so only for a short while yesterday since Balwa was brought to Delhi last evening only.
The CBI reportedly has evidence from the Income Tax department that Balwa, considered close to Raja, was instrumental in channeling the kickbacks allegedly received by the former Telecom Minister from the sale of 2G spectrum.
If the court does not extend the former Telecom Minister's custody, a crucial opportunity to join the dots in the scam would be lost. CBI sources say it now has evidence that A Raja gave Balwa an undervalued spectrum deal.
The CBI says that in 2008, when the government was allocating 2G spectrum for mobile phone networks, Raja twisted the rules to benefit a few companies - especially Swan and Unitech.
The licenses for 2G spectrum were not auctioned as many say they should have been. Raja chose to follow a first-come-first-served policy which was set by his predecessors. But the CBI's case is based on his office advancing the deadline for payments and informing only some of the players. Companies like Swan and Unitech seemed to have been tipped off to this, because despite the cut-off date being brought forward, they had their payments ready.
After winning their licenses, Swan and Unitech sold equity to foreign companies much before they began the rollout of their services. The giant profits they made seemed to underscore the point that spectrum had been sold far too cheaply by the government.
Swan paid Rs 1537 crore and sold 45% stake to UAE-based Etisalat for a profit of Rs 4, 730 crore. The DB group's telecom arm, earlier known as Swan Telecom, is now known as Etisalat-DB.
According to sources, over Rs 200 crore was allegedly transferred by DB group to Kalaignar TV, owned by the DMK family. But speaking to NDTV, DB Realty denied giving any loan to it directly. The CBI is probing this allegation.
Unitech paid Rs 1661 crores for its license, and sold 60% stake to Telenor for Rs. 6200 crore.
Together, these two players cost the government Rs. 7,195 crore, according to the CBI. Both Swan and Unitech have denied these allegations.
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