New Delhi, April 23: Going against the cross-holding rules of telecom sector and grant of licence, Swan Telecom was created out of funds arranged from several Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) companies, a daily reported on Saturday, citing the testimony of an ICICI Bank official submitted to the trail court.
According to the report, this was revealed in the testimony of Amit Khot, deputy branch manager of ICICI Bank’s Nariman Point branch, where seven ADAG companies have their accounts.
In its chargesheet on the 2G scam, the CBI has alleged that Swan Telecom was created out of funds arranged from Reliance Telecom or its associates.
On Wednesday, the special CBI court had rejected the bail pleas of three executives from the Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance ADA Group, and one each from Unitech and DB Realty. Among those whose bails were rejected and sent to Tihar Jail are Sanjay Chandra, MD, Unitech; Gautam Doshi, group MD, ADAG; and Vinod Goenka, MD, DB Realty.
As per the statement given by Amit Khot the seven ADAG companies transferred at least Rs 107 crore to Swan Telecom in 2006-07 only under the authority of Anil Ambani and wife Tina. Of this Rs 104.69 crore was given to Swan Telecom in a single payment on October 19, 2007 just seven months after the company submitted its application for 2G spectrum and licence.
Khot also furnished details of bank accounts and financial transactions involving the seven firms —ADAE Ventures, Zebra Consultants, Swan Consultants, Tiger Traders, AAA Consultancy Services, Sonata Investment, and Parrot Consultants.
-Agencies