Aircel-Maxis row: CBI team to meet Malaysian Attorney General: SC told

A CBI team is heading for Malaysia on Tuesday and will meet its Attorney General in connection with the overseas probe into the Aircel-Maxis deal involving former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran and Kuala Lumpur-based business tycoon T Ananda Krishnan, the Supreme Court was informed on Monday.

"The Attorney General of Malaysia has given appointment to the CBI team on March 21 and will discuss the issues contained in the letters rogatory," senior advocate KK Venugopal, appearing for the CBI, told the bench comprising justices G S Singhvi and K S Radhakrishnan, who are monitoring the probe into the 2G spectrum scam.

The bench also asked the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department to respond to the CVC comment on the status report relating to the probe into the Aircel-Maxis deal, allocation of additional spectrum involving Airtel, Vodafone and others and about the overseas investigation into the 2G scam.

The bench also gave a brief hearing to the plea of Janata Party Subramanian Swamy, who accused Maran of indulging in armtwisting in the sale of the stakes of Aircel to Maxis Group of Malaysia.

The CBI told the court that it has completed the domestic investigations into the deal.

Earlier on November 7 last, the agency had said the overseas probe was being delayed due to the influence of the firm's owner in Malaysia who is "powerful politically".

Maran has been accused of "forcing" Chennai-based telecom promoter C Sivasankaran to sell the stake in Aircel to a Malaysian firm Maxis Group in 2006 owned by Ananda Krishnan.

The agency had submitted that overseas probe was important to track the money trail as the funds for the deal had come through Mauritius.

The agency in July 2011 had placed a status report in the court stating that during 2004-07 when Maran was telecom Minister, Sivasankaran was coerced to sell the stake in Aircel to Maxis Group.

The report, part of which was read, had said that the Malaysian firm was favoured by Maran and was granted licence within six months after taking over Aircel in December 2006. Maran was the Telecom Minister between February 2004 and May, 2007.

The NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation, had earlier placed documents before the apex court on the alleged role of Maran in favouring Maxis group which had bought Aircel, owned by Siva Group, when he was Telecom Minister from 2004 to 2007.

CPIL had alleged that Maran during his tenure as Telecom Minister granted 14 licences to Aircel which invested Rs 599.01 crore in his family-owned business.

Later, he allegedly delayed the award of UAS licenses to Aircel, which had been applying to the DoT since 2004, by raising irrelevant issues from time to time and ignoring its owner's request to resolve them following which Sivasankaran sold the company to Maxis group.

Sivasankaran had appeared before the CBI and had recorded his statement.

The NGO claimed that after Aircel was taken over by Maxis, Maran’s family-owned business, Sun TV, received substantial investment from Maxis Group (Aircel) by taking 20 percent equity in Sun Direct.

"Feeling harassed, Sivasankaran was forced into selling Aircel. In March 2006, Maxis bought 74 per cent stake in Aircel. The company got the FIPB approval in May 2006. As on March 3, 2006, a total of 14 applications from Aircel were pending in the DoT for award of licenses," the NGO had said.