Aircel-Maxis scam: Submit status report by Jan 23; SC to Centre

The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to submit a status report on the progress of investigation in the Aircel-Maxis scam by the concerned agencies.

Inquiring the status of the investigation, the bench of Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Mohan M Shantanagoudar asked, “At what stage is the investigation? What are the pending issues that we need to decide?”

The court has also directed the Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to submit status report on the progress of the probe in the Aircel-Maxis scam by January 23 when the matter is next scheduled for further hearing.

During the hearing, Special Public Prosecutor Anand Grover said, “A person was forced by the then Telecom Minister to sell his company to a foreign corporation. The Finance Minister was empowered to grant FIPB approval for FDI not exceeding Rs. 600 crores, beyond which Cabinet approval was required. The ED had found that in the execution of the transaction, money to the tune of Rs. 1,000 crores was received a company owned by Karthi Chidambaram. In February 2017, the special CBI court had discharged the accused. Since the accused have been discharged, can the CBI and ED not continue with the investigation? This remains to be decided.”

Subramanian Swamy, who is the main petitioner in the case, informed the court that ED Officer Rajeshwar Singh was harassed after the ED’s attachment of the assets of Karthi Chidambaram in relation to the said foreign investment irregularities.

According to the allegations leveled by C Sivasankaran, promoter of telecom company Aircel Tele Ventures Ltd, Former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran illegally used his official position to delay the granting of Unified Access Service (UAS) licenses in seven service areas and other approvals/ permissions on various issues pending before Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

“By adopting coercive tactics, the sale of Aircel to Malaysia-based Maxis Communications was brought about. After the change of ownership, the applications for issuance of licences and other requests/ approvals pending since long before the DoT were smoothly acceded to and after transfer of telecom companies of Sivasankaran to Maxis, undue favour was given to these companies, for which alleged illegal gratification was paid through the companies of Kalanithi Maran, Dayanidhi Maran’s brother,” Sivasankaran had said.