Those in India know the sum involved in 2G scam is Rs.1,76,ooo Crores or Rs.1,76,000,00,00,000( for details of the scam refer blogs under Corruption/India).
How huge the amount is?
Let us assume you want to donate this money at the rate of Rs one hundred per head( one note).
Ask the people to come in queue.
You can give it to 1760 Crore people.
That means you can disperse the money to ALL the people on earth and provide the same to people of Three Earths.(my maths Correct?)
While the Spectrum scam tapes have been talked about, what has not received adequate notice so far is the lobbying and controversy surrounding the division of gas between theAmbani brothers. The conversations in this set seemingly include journalists Vir Sanghvi of the Hindustan Times; Prabhu Chawla of the India Today group; and G. Ganapathy Subramaniam and M.K. Venu of the Economic Times…
M.K.Venu.
While we are yet to fully absorb and understand the various intricacies and ramifications of the very many conversations on record, and clearly, there are many serious issues at stake here including those of privacy (who authorised these taps), timing of their made public and on-going corporate wars but it is eerie how casually a discussion, for example, about the battle for power sector involving Tatas and Reliance in Maharashtra segues into instigating the likes of Shiv Sena and other groups like the MNS and how easily corporates play and manoeuvre the “protests” by goon-gangs of political outfits to further their ends.
Also, how easy it seems for these power-brokers to casually fix not just politicians — e.g.Venkaiah Naidu of the BJP here is mentioned as amenable to persuasion, as against Arun Shourie, for example — but also, in their narration, the higher judiciary.
Some of the abbreviations:
MM: Manoj Modi, Mukesh Ambani‘s right hand man in Reliance
Following files said to be K. Venugopal, Editor, Hindu Business Line
Vinu-fudged RCOM figs-gas-Curse on AmarSingh-20090616-200515 &
Vinu perhaps-All issues-mainly spectrum-20090616-195137
The file-names below are as in the CD handed over to the Supreme Court. They seem to follow the format of the date and time of the recording in the file name, thus -20090620-143207 seems to refer to a recording of 14:32:07 on 20 June, 2010.
M.K. Venu: You saw Rohini’s story. It has come today.
Niira Radia: No, I haven’t seen it. I’m going to see it now. I finished at 1.30 in the night.
MK: But it’s all tucked away. You’re also keeping Manoj Modi’s timings. 2 o’ clock!
NR: It’s tucked away, is it?
MK: Yeah, but in ET you can’t miss it. It is the inside page but it’s the top half, the lead story of the page.
NR: You know this one, Ganapathy has been chasing me but I don’t want to give it to him. I have a letter from the Andhra chief minister.
MK: Hmm.
NR: I don’t want to give it to him, I am scared to give it and find the story killed. What do you think I should do? He has given a scathing attack. He has written to the PM.
MK: The Andhra CM. Two years ago, he used to sing Anil Ambani’s tune. It is a very strong letter, yaar.
NR:Kya karoon yaar. I don’t want it tucked away.
MK: Objective advice. Isko aise akhbar ko do jo isko lead flyer carry kare. Isko CNBC ko do. Then these people will be adequately provoked. If CNBC carries it as a lead 10 times a day, then everyone will start running helter skelter. If I was the editor, Rohini’s story was a clean Page 1, top half, like a lead story. Do you think a letter to the MD is possible? Broadly saying that we congratulate the launch of ET Now and then you can raise this issue that there is this raging controversy that is of national interest and we hope you can take which is, you know, which is in keeping with what Y.S.R. Reddy has written. Aisa karke you should lagao one.
NR: How is Prabhakar Sinha in Times?
MK: My information is that he and his brother Arun Kumar are retainers on the other side. About Arun Kumar, I am quite sure. He and Sandeep Bamzai used to be so openly partisan. I met Shekhar Bhatia at dinner, he used to be executive editor then, he told Sandeep Bamzai ki kam se kam ek hafta to chhod do. At least three to six months, you don’t plug him. This is what Shekhar Bhatia told him publicly.
NR: Yes, I don’t blame him. I met Sukumar and Sanjoy Narayan.
MK: That Sanjoy Narayan has an old friendship with that Tony (Jesudasan), na? They have some great common interests.
Radiaa, on behalf of Tata, threatens Raja not to allow Ambani higher bands.( see my blog on this-Courts/ Govt. can not decide policy )
Kalaignar TV states that the loan was advanced to them and that they have returned it.
The question is ,why should a Company from Mumbai advance to a TV Company In Chennai?
The company that advanced the amount, is not into Financing.
Secondly, with out security why was such an amount paid?
If Kalaignar TV wanted funds(which I doubt for Karunanidhi floated the TV in a jiffy without any financial problem), they could have raised it from Financial Institutions.
If banks were not prepared to advance, on what basis such a huge amount was loaned to Kalaignar TV?
Had the scam not brioken out , in a couple of years Kalaignar TV would have settled the account with Cineyug by paying a nominal amount and stating that they have no funds and filed tax returns and legalized the transaction.
And look at the fund flow.
DB>Realty Dynamics>Cineyug> Kalaignar TV.
Each Company seems to have been advanced the X amount to to be transferred to the beneficiary(Kalaignar TV), plus their service charges(?).
How was the kickback in the 2G spectrum scam actually paid? Documents with HEADLINES TODAY show that the payback was in the form of equity in the companies which bagged the lucrative 2G spectrum licences at a throwaway price.
India’s audit watchdog, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had indicted Swan Telecom, among others, for having sold significant stakes in their companies at high premium within a short period of time after acquiring the licence.
HEADLINES TODAY is in exclusive possession of documents that show that Swan Telecom had brought in an equity partner in the form of a company, which had a close associate of DMK supremo M. Karunanidhi and tainted former telecom minister A. Raja on board.
The documents show that Swan Telecom had written to DoT in November 2008, bringing on board a company called Genex Exim Ventures. Swan said that it had entered into a share subscription agreement (SSA) with Genex Exim on September 23, 2008.
Interestingly, the man on the board of Genex Exim, Ahmed Salahuddin is the younger son of Ahmed Syed Salahuddin, a close associate of Karunanidhi.
The elder Salahuddin has been close to the DMK for around 40 years.
According to the SSA, UAE telecom company Etisalat agreed to subscribe up to 45 per cent in the increased equity of Swan Telecom and invest around Rs 3,217 crore into the company.
Significantly, a company called Genex Exim Ventures Pvt Limited was also shown as having agreed to invest around Rs 380 crore into the company.
Genex Exim came into existence just six days before entering into the SSA with Swan. Interestingly, Genex Exim later sold its 5.27 per cent holding to Etisalat Mauritius for Rs 380 crore to make a handsome profit for all on a share capital of just Rs 1 lakh.
According to documents with HEADLINES TODAY Genex Impex was flush with cash to the extent of Rs 380 crore soon after its birth. The source of the cash is not known. This cash was later deployed in buying equity in Swan Telecom – equity which was subsequently sold to Etisalat for a profit of Rs 380 crore!
When the first application was filed to form Genex Exim, the Salahuddins did not seem to have anything to do with the company. It was only on December 17, 2008, that Ahmed Salahuddin came on board as managing director (MD).
Interestingly, there was nothing in Genex Exim’s memorandum of association to show that it was going to enter the telecom sector. It was a company which claimed would be engaged in the business of imports and exports of all kinds of merchandise including iron ore.
The raids were carried out early in the morning and are in connection with the money trail in the 2G scam. The CBI suspects that some amount of payoffs in the scam may have been diverted to the channel.
The investigating agency had alleged last week that a Rs. 200-crore cheque was sent from Mumbai to Chennai in 2009 which ended up with Kalaignar TV, which is owned largely by the family of M Karunanidhi, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. His second wife, MK Dayaluammal, owns 60 per cent stake in the channel and his daughter Kanimozhi owns another 20 per cent.
The money, the CBI alleged, was paid to former Telecom Minister A Raja by Shahid Balwa, a promoter of DB Realty and Swan Telecom, which was allegedly one of the two major beneficiaries of Raja’s spectrum largesse when he was minister. Swan Telecom was granted its license for a little over Rs. 1500 crores and it later sold stake to Etisalat, a Dubai-based firm, for nearly Rs. 4,200 crores.
CBI sources allege that the DB Group first transferred the money to Morani Brothers’ owned event management company Cineyug Films, which then forwarded it to Kalaignar.
Kalaignar TV clarified that Cineyug invested the money for buying Kalaingar’s shares, which later fell through due to differences in valuation, following which Kalaingar TV treated that money as a loan and repaid it with a 31 crore interest.
Widening the ongoing probe into the alleged 2G spectrum scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) may call for questioning Kanimozhi, Rajya Sabha member and daughter of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, and Sharad Kumar, Kalaignar TV’s managing director. They hold 20 per cent equity each in “Kalaignar TV Private Limited” which is alleged to have received funds to the tune of over Rs. 200 crore from Mumbai.
During its probe being monitored by the Supreme Court, the CBI stumbled upon the alleged transfer of over Rs. 200 crore from Cineyug of Mumbai to Kalaignar TV. It stated before the Special Judge on February 14, 2011 that the funds were arranged by Cineyug Films Private Ltd. to Kalaignar TV Private Ltd., which belongs to Sharad Kumar and others who are closely associated with the former Telecom Minister, A. Raja, who has now been sent to judicial custody after sustained interrogation in the case.
The CBI stated that the funds were arranged by Cineyug Films from Shahid Balwa’s DB Group, the promoter of new operator Etisalat DB and one of the main beneficiaries in the 2G scam, in which the family members of Mr. Balwa were the directors/shareholders.
“As of this moment, we have not taken any decision…but we may call Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar in the days to come for seeking clarifications from them and questioning them regarding transfer of funds to Kalaignar TV,” authoritative sources within the CBI told The Hindu on Thursday.
On the other hand, Mr. Kumar has, in a statement, said the channel would have no objection to its accounts and documents being verified by the agencies.
A day after questioning Reliance ADA Group head, Anil Ambani, the CBI on Thursday questioned Essar Group CEO Prashant Ruia in the 2G case. CBI sources said that during Wednesday’s questioning, Mr. Ambani and Mr. Raja were confronted with each other.
We also noted an instance, highlighted in the transcript below, where the transcript provided by Mr. Chawla differed from what some news outlets had carried. That occurs shortly after where Mr. Chawla’s transcript has him saying he sent Reliance Industries’ Chairman Mukesh Ambani a message 15 to 20 days earlier.
In a sentence that follows soon after, Outlook and Tehelkahave both interpreted the sentence that begins “Before the judgment was coming…” as ending with the words “I wanted to forewarn him.”
Mr. Chawla’s transcript instead has the sentence ending: “I wanted to probe on him.”
We went back to Mr. Chawla on this point, and he said there was no question about him trying to forewarn Mr. Ambani about anything. He also said he was trying to reach Mr. Ambani to seek his participation in an India Today conclave.
“I’m the only journalist who has put the audio on his own blog and has not disabled the comments,” he added.
He also said, referring to both Ambani brothers: “There’s nothing which I’m promising them, there’s nothing I’m trying to advise them.”
Editors at the two magazines could not be reached immediately for comment.
In response to a query about this conversation, a spokesman for Ms. Radia referred us to a previous statement from the Vaishnavi Group, in which the firm said it was “fully transparent” and the media was spreading misinformation about the firm and Ms. Radia.
Spokesmen for Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani did not respond to email requests for comment on Monday.
Now judge for yourself.
Here is the statement Mr. Chawla sent out with the transcript:
“Much has been made about a conversation that Nira Radia had with me. This is just to put the record straight. The 13 minute conversation had nothing to do with the controversial 2G of A Raja. Nira called me as she said ‘to seek my expertise’ on the Battle for Gas’ between the two Ambani brothers. I merely told her that the earlier the brothers put an end to their private battle, the better it will be for the public good. I did not take sides. I did say that I knew both brothers but was equally critical of the tactics being adopted by each to run down the other. Nira also asked me about my son, who is a lawyer and is retained by the Anil Ambani group as their counsel. I however made it clear that my son Ankur was not appearing in the particular Gas case. Following is the transcript of the 13 minute conversation. It is proof, if indeed proof were needed, that I have nothing to hide or be ashamed of.”
And here is the transcript provided by Mr. Chawla (the only alterations India Real Time has made to the transcript as it was e-mailed to us are adding italicized clarifications and translations for Hindi phrases in parentheses, and bold-facing the disputed sentence):
NR Hi Prabhu
PC Ya tell me now
NR Nai nothing, I was just wanting to understand things from you. You always have a very good perspective.
PC On What?
NR On everything Bhai he he he he. Generally you have a good perspective of everything. I just wanted to know what is yr view on this great historic judgment.
PC. Which one, the Bombay one?
NR The Bombay one which takes the family pecked (pact) above the national interest.
PC You see when the brothers are involved, the nation also gets involved na?
NR Ya, probably not a good thing na. not good for the nation.
PC Not good for the nation, but the brothers don’t talk to each other. There is nobody who can force them to talk also
NR Who tho ho gayi na Prabhu tum bhi janthe ho (That’s happened no, Prabhu, you also know.)
PC Maine koshiosh kiyi thi., Nahi hua. Maine kaha ho jayega. (I had tried. It didn’t happen. I said it will happen.)
NR Nahi. I was speaking to him recently, in fact this morning
PC (interrupts) is he back from wherever he had gone, Mukesh?
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