After CBI, SFIO looks into Reliance Infocomm
Monday, March 7 2005 21:00 Hrs (IST) - World Time - 
New Delhi:
Reliance Infocomm's troubles may not be over despite paying up Rs 150 crore penalty today (Mar 7, 2005) on re-routing of international calls as the CBI as well as the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) have begun probing certain actions of the country's biggest private telecom company.
The CBI probe is said to be focused on finding out whether there was any violation of criminal law in re-routing of international calls, while SFIO, under the Ministry of Company Affairs, is investigating the allotment of the company's shares to private entities said to have important political connections, informed sources said.
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After the public wrangling between Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani and his younger brother Anil over the control of the Rs 90,000 crore Reliance empire, it has been widely reported that Infocomm, also headed by the elder Ambani, had given about one crore shares for Rs one each to three companies of Ashish Deora who reportedly had some links with former Communications Minister Pramod Mahajan.
The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) leader has, however, denied allegations in this regard.
A day after stating that there was no Mahajan link in share allotment, Infocomm said last month that Deora's companies had returned in December 2004 these shares given as compensation for helping Reliance in obtaining permissions for buildings and right of way.
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The Government had nonetheless initially thought of a CBI probe, but the investigating agency took the view that its wing dealing with banking and securities fraud would not be able to take up the probe as it related to a private company. Thereafter, SFIO was brought into the picture.
The CBI, however, is investigating any criminal law violation in re-routing of international calls as local ones.
It is scrutinising the papers submitted by the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) in connection with the alleged scam involving hundreds of crores in re-routing of international calls and involving Reliance Infocomm and some other top private telecom operators.
Highly placed CBI sources said the papers included the findings of the DoT, which had imposed a fine of Rs 150 crore on Reliance for re-routing international calls.
The re-routing had caused a loss to the BSNL besides posing a potential threat to the national security, the sources said but added that the agency would decide on whether to file an FIR against the telecom company only after the hearing in various petitions pending in courts was completed.
The CBI stumbled upon the case during its investigations in the illegal telephone exchanges busted in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh recently during the agency's special drive on February 2.
CBI officials said during its investigations into the functioning of illegal exchanges in the southern States, the agency had found involvement of certain private telecom companies and some officials of Department of Telecommunications.
The agency had found that even pamphlets were circulated in the US and Canada where they were offering calls to India at 80 to 82 cents.
PTI
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