2G spectrum case

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The 2G spectrum case is an alleged fraud by politicians and government officials under the coalition government of United Unity (Congress) in India.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on December 21, 2017 stated that there was no evidence to prosecute the accused and free all personnel accused.

The Union Government at the time was accused of accumulating cell phone companies for frequency allocation licenses, which they used to create 2G spectrum subscriptions for cell phones. The government chose NM Rothschild & amp; Children to design the world's first e-auction mechanism, an important deal worth US $ 2.27 billion. The difference between the money collected and the mandated for collection is estimated by the Financial Controller and the General Auditor of India at INR 1.76 trillion (US $ 26 billion), based on 2010 Auction price 3G and BWA spectrum. In a bill filed on April 2, 2011 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the loss was pegged at INR 309,845.5 million (US $ 4.6 billion). In an August 19, 2011 response to the CBI, the Indian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRAI) said that the government has gained more than INR 30 billion (US $ 450 million) by selling the 2G spectrum.

On February 2, 2012, India's Supreme Court ruled on public interest litigation (PIL) related to 2G spectrum allocation. The court declared the "unconstitutional and arbitrary" spectrum distribution, canceling 122 licenses issued in 2008 under A. Raja (Minister of Communications & IT TI 2007-2009), the main official alleges. According to the court, the King "wants to support some companies with the public treasurer's fees" & amp; "A truly talented national asset [s]." The zero-loss theory was discredited on 3 August 2012 when, after the Supreme Court's directive, the Government of India revised the base price for 2G Mz spectrum auctions to INR 140 billion (US $ 2 , 1 billion), raising its value to approximately INR 28 billion (US $ 420 million) per MHz (near the Financial Supervisor and General Auditor estimate INR 33.5 billion (US $ 500 million) per MHz).

Although the first-come, first-served licensing policy, introduced during the Vihpayee Government Bihari Atal, the King changed the rules so that it was applied to meet the requirements, not the app itself. On January 10, 2008, the company was given only a few hours to supply Letter of Intent and payment; some executives allegedly given instructions by the King, and they (and ministers) were imprisoned. According to some analysts, many corruption scandals including 2G spectrum cases, coal mining fraud, Adarsh ​​fraud Housing Society and Commonwealth scams are the main factors behind the massive defeat of the UPA National Indian Congress in Lok Sabha 2014 election. the severity of corruption allegations leads to a loss of trust between Congress and the party. Time magazine noted the Indian Telecoms Scandal as one of 10 abuse of power.

However, a special court in New Delhi freed all defendants in the 2G spectrum case including the prime of defendants A King and Kanimozhi on December 21, 2017, the ruling based on the fact that the CBI could not find evidence against the defendant in those 7 years.. Per assessment, "Some people create scams by artistically arranging selected facts and exaggerating things that are not recognizable at the astronomical level." CBI and the Enforcement Directorate will appeal against the Special Court's ruling in the High Court of Delhi.

Video 2G spectrum case

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India is divided into 22 telecommunication zones, with 281 zonal licenses. In 2008, 122 new 2G licensed 2G Unified Access Service (UAS) licenses were granted to telecommunications companies on a first-come, first served basis at 2001 prices. According to the CBI bill, several laws were violated and bribes paid for supporting certain companies in granting 2G spectrum licenses. According to the CAG audit, licenses are granted to unqualified companies, those without experience in the telecommunications sector (such as Unitech and Swan Telecom) and those who hide relevant information. Although former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh suggested the King to transmit the 2G spectrum transparently and revise the license fee in the November 2007 letter, the King rejected many of Singh's recommendations. In another letter that month, the Ministry of Finance expressed procedural concerns to DOT; this was ignored, and the cut-off date was moved from 1 October 2007 to 25 September. On September 25, DOT announces on its website that an applicant applying between 3:30 and 4:30 that day will be granted a license. Although the company was not eligible, Swan Telecom was granted a license for INR 15.37 billion (US $ 230 million) and sold 45 percent of shares to Etisalat based in UAE for INR 42 billion (US $ 630 million). Unitech Wireless (a subsidiary of Unitech Group) acquired a license for INR 16.61 billion (US $ 250 million), sold 60 percent shares for INR 62 billion (US $ 920 million) to Telenor based in Norway.

The following is a list of companies that received a 2G license during the term of office of the King as telecommunications minister; the license was later canceled by the Supreme Court:

Maps 2G spectrum case

The alleged party

The sale of the license draws attention to three groups: politicians and bureaucrats, who have the authority to sell licenses; companies buy licenses, and professionals are mediated between politicians and companies.

Politicians

The following claims are filed by the CBI and the Directorate General of Income Tax Investigations in the Special CBI Court.

A. King

• Political career : DMK Member of the Parliament four times (last won Nilgiris constituency, Tamil Nadu) and now not MP, Union Union of State for Rural Development (1999) and Health and Family Welfare (2003), former Minister of Environment and Forest Cabinet (2004) and Communications and Information Technology (2007 and 2009)
• Accusations : The joint investigation report by the CBI and the Income Tax Department alleges that the King may have received INR 30 billion (US $ 450 million) bribe to move the cut-off date for future spectrum applications. Deadlines are eliminating many applications, allowing the King to support multiple applicants. Agencies also allege that he used his account on behalf of his wife in the banks of Mauritius and Seychelles for his bribes. The CBI allegation sheet alleges that the King conspired with the defendant and arbitrarily repaired the first-come policy, first-served to ensure that Swan and Unitech received the license. Instead of auctioning the 2G spectrum, he sold it at the 2001 rate.
• Costs : Criminal violations of trust by public servants (section 409), criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), fraud (Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under Corruption Prevention to accept illegal gratuities.
• Status : Arrested by CBI on 2 February 2011. Applied for warranty on May 9, 2012, granted on May 15th. On December 21, 2017, he was released by the Special CBI Court.

M. K. Kanimozhi

• Political career : Princess of five times Chief Minister Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi. Member of Parliament DMK, representing Tamil Nadu in Rajya Sabha.
• Accusations : According to the CBI bill, Kanimozhi owns 20 percent of family-owned Kalaignar TVs; her stepmother, Dayalu Ammal, has 60 percent of channels. The CBI alleged that Kanimozhi was the "active brain" behind the channel and conspired with the King to force DB Realty co-founder Shahid Balwa to distribute INR 2 billion (US $ 30 million) to Kalaignar TV. Kanimozhi regularly deals with the King about the launch of Kalaignar TV. The King advanced the cause of the channel, facilitating its registration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and adding it to the list of DTH TATA Sky operators. Kanimozhi was charged with tax evasion by the Income Tax Department in Chennai.
• Costs : Criminal conspiracy causes violation of criminal trust by public servants and criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), fraud (Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471), and ordered under Prevention Corruption.
• Status : Arrested by the CBI on May 20, 2011. Gave a guarantee on November 28, 2011, after 188 days of detention. On December 21, 2017, he was released by the Special CBI Court.

Bureaucrat

A number of bureaucrats were named in the CBI fee sheet filed in the Special Court.

Siddharth Behura

• Position : Telecom Secretary when license is granted.
• Allegations : According to the CBI bill, Behura conspires with the King and others. When the application deadline is stated, from 3:30 to 4:30 pm, Behura closes the counter to block other telecommunication companies.
• Costs : Criminal violations of trust by public servants (Section 409), criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), fraud (Section 420) and counterfeiting (Sections 468 and 471); booked under Corruption Prevention to accept illegal gratuities.
• Status : Arrested by the CBI on February 2, 2011 and granted warrant on May 9, 2012, and finally released on 21 December 2017 by the Special CBI Court for lack of convincing evidence. In the approval of the parliamentary committee together on July 10, 2012, Behura blamed the King on most of the decisions related to the 2G spectrum auction.

RK Chandolia

• Position : King's personal secretary when license is granted.
• Accusations : According to the CBI fee sheet, Chandolia, like Behura, conspired with the King and others; when the application deadline is declared from 3:30 to 4:30 pm, Chandolia joins Behura at the cessation of termination physically to block other telecom companies.
• Costs : Criminal conspiracy causes a criminal offense of trust by public servants, criminal conspiracy (Section 120 B), fraud (Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under Corruption Prevention
• Status : Arrested by the CBI on 2 February 2011. Although he was granted a guarantee by a special court of the CBI on 1 December 2011, the next day the High Court took suo motu news of warranties and waiting for him. Chandolia appealed to the Supreme Court, and on May 9, 2012 the court upheld the guarantee grant. He was released on 21 December 2017 by the Special CBI Court because there was no substantial evidence.

Executive

A number of executives were accused in the CBI fee sheet.

Sanjay Chandra

• Position : Former managing director of Unitech Wireless
• Costs : Criminal conspiracy causes violation of criminal trust by public servants, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), fraud (Section 420) and counterfeiting (Sections 468 and 471); booked under Corruption Prevention
• Charges : Former CBI prosecutor AK Singh was involved in recorded conversations, sharing legal strategies and privileged information with Chandra.
• Status : Arrested by CBI on April 20, 2011 and bailed on November 24, On December 21, 2017 she has been released by a special CBI Court.

Umashankar

Some companies are named in the CBI bill.

Unitech Wireless

• Claims : Criminal conspiracy causes a criminal offense of trust by public servants, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), fraud (Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471)
• Status : The Company was released on December 21, 2017 for any errors by the Special CBI Court.

Reliance Telecom

• Costs : Criminal conspiracy causes a criminal offense of trust by public servants, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B) and fraud (Section 420)
• Status : Beginning in December 2017, released in case of the 2G spectrum.

Swan Telecom

• Costs : Criminal conspiracy causes a criminal offense of trust by public servants, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B) and fraud (Section 420)
• Status : The Company was released on 21 December 2017 for any wrongdoing by a specially designated CBI Court for the purpose of acquitting the defendant.

Other companies mentioned in the invoice are:

• Loop Telecom
• Mobile India Loop
• Essar Tele Holding
• Essar Group (holding company of Essar Tele Holding)

Media role

OPEN and Outlook reported that journalist Barkha Dutt (editor of NDTV) and Vir Sanghvi (editorial director of Hindustan Times ) knew that company lobbyist Nira Radia influenced the appointment King as telecommunications minister, publicized Radia's phone conversations with Dutt and Sanghvi when Radia's phone was intercepted by the Income Tax Department. According to critics, Dutt and Sanghvi know about the relationship between the government and the media industry but delay the reporting of corruption.

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Chronology

On 2 February 2012, the Supreme Court ruled the petition submitted by Subramanian Swamy and Public Interest Litigation Center (CPIL) represented by Prashant Bhushan, challenged the grant of 2G license in 2008, canceled all 122 spectrum licenses granted during the King's term as minister of communications. and described the allocation of the 2G spectrum as "unconstitutional and arbitrary". The bench GS Singhvi and Asok Kumar Ganguly impose a fine of INR 50 million (US $ 750,000) on Unitech Wireless, Swan Telecom and Tata Teleservices and INR 5 million (US $ 75,000) fines on Loop Telecom, S Tel, Allianz Infratech and Sistema Shyam Tele Services. According to the regulations, the current license will remain valid for four months, after which the government will re-issue the license.

In his verdict the court said that the former telecommunications minister A. King "wants to support some companies at the expense of the public treasurer", lists the seven steps he took to ensure this:

1. After becoming telecommunications minister, the King directs that all applications for spectrum licensing will be held pending the recommendation of the Indian Telecommunications Authority.
2. The TRAI 28 August 2007 recommendation is not given to the full Telecommunication Commission, which will include the financial secretary. Although TRAI's recommendation for 2G spectrum allocation has serious financial implications (and the finance minister's input is required under the Government of India's Business Transaction Act, 1961), non-permanent members of the Telecommunication Commission are not informed of the meeting.
3. The DoT officers who attended the 10 October 2007 Telecommunications Commission meeting were forced to approve the TRAI recommendation, or they would "expel" the "anger" of the King.
4. Since the Cabinet has approved the recommendation of the Group of Ministers, DoT should discuss the issue of pricing the spectrum with the finance ministry. However, the King did not consult with the finance minister or any other official because the financial secretary had objected to allocating the 2G spectrum to the 2001 tariff.
5. The king rejected the advice of the law minister that the matter should be submitted to the Minister Group. After receiving a November 2nd, 2007 letter from the PM showing transparency in the spectrum spectrum spectrum, the King said it was unfair, discriminatory, arbitrary and fickle for the auction spectrum for new applicants for not giving them a balanced playing field. Despite the Sept. 24 press release, DoT says that October 1 will be the deadline for registration, it changes the deadline to 25 September. The arbitrary act of the King, "although apparently harmless, was intended to benefit some real estate companies with no experience in dealing with telecommunication services and who had made the app only on September 24, 2007, ie one day earlier. by minister C & IT itself ".
6. The September 25 cut-off date decided by the King on November 2 was not published until the press release of January 10, 2008 in which he changed the first-come, first-served principle that has operated since 2003. "This allows some applicants, who have access to either ministers or DoT officials, get a draft bank prepared for performance guarantees of Rs 16 billion ".
7. "The manner in which the exercise to give the LoI to applicants is done on January 10, 2008 leaves no room for doubt that everything stages successfully supporting those who are able to know the previous changes in the implementation of the first-served first policy." As a result, some companies that have submitted applications in 2004 or 2006 downgraded the list for those who have submitted applications in August and September 2007.

Company affected by cancellation

The table below lists companies whose permits are canceled.

Aftermath

In addition to Batelco's exit, on February 21, 2012 Telenor (majority shareholder in Uninor) terminated its agreement with Unitech and sued it for "indemnification and compensation". On February 23, 2012, Etisalat from Etasalat-DB Telecom sued the promoters of DB Realty, Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka for fraud and misrepresentation.

Following a special CBI court decision on December 21, 2017 to free all defendants, the government faced a compensation claim worth more than Rs 17,000 crore from telecommunications companies such as Videocon Telecom, Loop Telecom and STel which suffered business losses after the Supreme Court overturned 122 licenses in 2012.

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Controversy of Aircel-Maxis deal

On June 6, 2011 the former head of Aircel C. Sivasankaran complained to the CBI about not receiving a telecommunication license and was forced by telecommunication minister Dayanidhi Maran to sell Aircel to Malaysian-based group Maxis Communications, owned by T. Ananda Krishnan. The license was allegedly issued after the deal was made. Sivasankaran also alleges that the Dayanidhi and Kalanithi Maran brothers took bribes in the form of investments by the Maxis group through the Astro network at Sun TV Network, owned by the Maran family. In the wake of the allegations, Maran resigns on July 7.

On October 10, the CBI registered a case and stormed the property of the Maran people. CBI sources said that although there was no compelling evidence found in Aircel's sale, they found strong evidence that Maran preferred Maxis's takeover of the company and deliberately delayed Sivasankar's files. On February 8, 2012, the Directorate of Enforcement registered a money laundering case against the Maran brothers for allegedly receiving illegal compensation around INR 5.5 billion in the Aircel-Maxis deal.

During the CBI examination, Sivasankaran said that Maran's brothers had forced him to sell his 74% stake in Aircel to Maxis by threatening his life, giving the CBI a list of more than 10 witnesses. In September 2012, the CBI said it had completed an Indian investigation and awaited a response to a rogatory letter sent to Malaysia and a questionnaire from T. Ananda Krishnan before filing a token. On 29 August 2014, the CBI filed a chargeback against Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi Maran, Malaysian businessman T Ananda Krishnan, Malaysian citizen Augustus Ralph Marshall, six others and four companies - Sun Direct TV Pvt Ltd, Maxis Communication Berhad, Astro All Asia Network PLC and South Asia Entertainment Holding Ltd as the accused in this case. On October 29, 2014, CBI special judge OP Saini said that he found enough evidence to continue the prosecution and therefore summoned former telecommunications minister Dayanidhi Maran and others as defendants. Based on CBI refill, Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on April 1, 2015, attach property owned by Maran Brothers worth Rs 742 crore.

Subramanian Swamy alleges that in 2006 a company controlled by Karti Chidambaram, the son of Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, received a five percent share in Aircel to get a share of the INR 40 billion paid by Maxis Communications for 74 percent of the shares Aircel. According to Swamy, Chidambaram canceled the approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board on the deal until his son received a five percent stake in Siva's company. This issue was raised several times in Parliament by the opposition, which demanded Chidambaram's resignation. Although he and the government denied the allegations, The Pioneer and India Today reported documents showing that Chidambaram suspended approval of a seven-month foreign direct investment proposal.

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Response to alleged

When Indian media started citing a CAG report that identified losses in <$ 1.76 trillion (short-scale) INR INR 1,6 trillion (short-scale), the Indian opposition party unanimously demanded the formation of a joint parliamentary committee to investigate the allegations. Although the government rejected their request, when the winter session of Parliament began on 9 November 2010, the opposition again pressed for JPC; once again, their request was denied. Demand for JPC gained further momentum when the CAG report was submitted in Parliament on 16 November 2010. The opposition blocked the process, again pressing for JPC; the government again rejected their request, created an impasse. Lok Sabha Kumar's chairman failed to try to resolve the deadlock. The Parliament winter session closed on December 13, 2010. Although 22 new bills are planned to be introduced, 23 pending bills are passed and three bills are withdrawn, Parliament serves only nine hours. On February 22, 2011, after rejecting opposition demands for more than three months, the government announced it would form the JPC. JPC criticized the CBI for its leeway to the PM, the Attorney General, Dayanidhi Maran and Chidambaram and his reluctance to investigate their role on July 24, 2012. After questioning former telecommunications minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi and head of Maxis Communications, the CBI alleged that the Maran brothers were spending illegal INR 5.50 billion by the sale of Sun Direct TV shares at a high price.

In early November 2010 Jayalalithaa accused the head of state M Karunanidhi protecting the King from corruption allegations, calling for King's resignation. In mid-November, the King resigned. At that time, financial overseer Vinod Rai issued a notice of the causes to Unitech, S Tel, Loop Mobile, Datacom (Videocon) and Etisalat in response to his assertion that 85 licenses granted to these companies do not have the required capital on the application or otherwise illegal. It's speculated that since these companies provide some consumer service, they will receive big penalties but retain their licenses.

In June 2011, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh criticized CAG for commenting on policy issues, warning him "to limit offices to roles defined in the constitution." After Singh's critique, CAG conducted "rigorous internal judgments" and persisted with its findings, citing additional events as corroborating evidence. CAG reaffirms that there is an "indisputable loss to the treasury", whose calculations are based on three estimates: 3G auction and Swan and Unitech transactions. It quotes the Supreme Court's ruling of 2 February 2012 that the actions of the King and officers in the Telecommunications Department "are completely arbitrary, fickle and contrary to the public interest, apart from being offender of the doctrine of equality.The material produced for quotations indicates that Minister C & IT wants to support several companies at the cost of public treasury. "It is said that the estimated loss of 1.76-lakh crore is justified, as the collection of TRAI 2012 from the reserve price for the 2G spectrum is almost the same as the November 2010 CAG report. TRAI has recommended reserve prices for the 2G spectrum < span> INR 180 billion for a 5 MHz pan-India license, higher than the 3G value of INR 167.50 billion for 5 MHz used by CAG to get the loss rate INR 1.760 billion. It concludes that it only examines "policy implementation", and policy-making is the prerogative of government.

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Combined parliamentary committee

JPC consists of half the members of the United Progressive Alliance and half the opposition members. Twelve come from Lok Sabha, and eight from Rajya Sabha. Of the Lok Sabha lawmakers, eight came from the Congress Party and four from the BJP. The following JPC members are investigating 2G allegations:

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Verdict

On December 21, 2017, the Special CBI Court acquitted all those accused.

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See also

• Telecommunications Spectrum Auction India
• List of scandals in India
• Corruption in India
• The Lokpal Bill, 2011
• India's 2011 anti-corruption movement
• Jan Lokpal Bill

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References

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External links

• Transcript: The Radia Tapes contain all leaked audio transcripts between company lobbyist Nira Radia and other high profile people.
• 2G Scam: On the dock (in picture: HT)
• Case Study of Supreme Court Decision on Scam 2G Spectrum

Source of the article : Wikipedia