Neeraj Chauhan TNN
New Delhi:The CBI on Sunday registered a case against former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother and Sun TV managing director Kalanithi Maran, Malaysian billionaire and promoter of Maxis Communications T Ananda Krishnan and senior executive of Maxis Ralph Marshal, besides three companies – Sun Direct TV, Maxis Communications and Astro All Asia.
The CBI case, which triggered raids on Monday at various places in Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad, alleges that Maran received kickbacks from Malaysia-based Maxis immediately after it bought Aircel for $800 million. Aircel promoter C Sivasankaran has told the investigation agency that he was coerced by the Maran brothers to sell the telecom company to Maxis.
“Maran, as the then telecom minister, favoured Maxis group in the takeover of Aircel and in return investments were made by Maxis through Astro Network in Sun Direct TV owned by the Maran family,” a CBI officer said.
Besides drawing in a second telecom minister — A Raja is already in Tihar jail as an accused in the 2G case — into the widening investigations into spectrum allocations, the CBI case is also the first one in the scam in which foreigners have been named as accused.
CBI found that “former Aircel chief C Sivasankaran was coerced by Dayanidhi Maran to the extent that he finally sold off his company to Maxis”. CBI unlikey to arrest Marans in a hurry The Agency Set To Quiz The Brothers Soon
Asource said, “Just before the deal was struck, Malaysian billionaire T Ananda Krishnan had come to India several times and had meetings with Dayanidhi Maran at his office, and once the company was sold by Sivasankaran, Maxis was given licences following which Maxis bought shares worth Rs 547 crore in Sun Direct at premium rates, despite company (Sun) not having such kind of market reputation at that time.”
Officials said they would formally question Dayanidhi Maran and other accused persons in the coming days but refused to comment on their arrest.
After registering the case, the agency conducted raids at nine places on Monday including the Delhi and Chennai residences of Dayanidhi Maran, Kalanithi’s residence in Chennai, as well as Sun Direct’s offices in Delhi and Chennai. Reports also said the residence of Apollo Hospital’s Suneetha Reddy, who was questioned in the past by CBI, too was raided. CBI officials said they had gathered documents that would further bolster their case.
CBI has charged the Maran brothers, Ralph Marshall and T Anand Krishnan and three companies under section 120 B of IPC (criminal conspiracy) read with 13(2) with 13 (1)(d) and also section 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, CBI spokesperson Dharini Mishra said.
To book Maran and others, CBI banked on the complaint given by Sivasankaran, which had alleged that “Maran had deliberately delayed his requests for licences and had forced him to sell the company” as well as on documents from Registrar of Companies, RBI and Department of Telecom. The CBI alleged, “By giving 2G licences to Maxis instead of Aircel, the expansion of company in telecom sector was throttled as Maxis was not much interested in telecom business in India.”
A senior CBI officer said, “Sun Direct TV was not in a position at that time (in 2007) that any company would look for a lucrative investment in it like Maxis did by investing Rs 547 crore. Also, till the time Sivasankaran owned Aircel, his files were not moved by Maran, but as soon as Maxis bought Aircel, the process of 2G licences gathered pace.” CBI said it had direct evidence that files of Sivasankaran were deliberately delayed.
Maxis Communications has 74% share in Aircel while 26% is owned by Sindya Securities and Investments, according to Aircel’s web site. Reddy family of Apollo Hospitals is said to be stakeholders and promoters of Sindya Securities and Investments, sources said. Apollo Hospitals in a statement had earlier said, “Apollo Hospitals group and its chairman Dr Prathap C Reddy do not have any investment in Aircel or any other telecom company.”
CBI has questioned Marshall, Reddy and Maran brothers but Ananda Krishnan needs to be questioned, CBI sources said. CBI will now ask Maxis to send details about the deal from Malaysia and LRs would also be sent there.
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