2G trial: Tina Ambani tells court she is a housewife

Wife of Reliance ADA Group Chairman, Tina Ambani, who is described by the CBI as someone “who holds an important position in the Reliance ADA Group,” told a special CBI court hearing the 2G spectrum case today that she had no role in running the Reliance ADAG companies.

“I have no role in the running of Reliance ADA group as I am a housewife. I run a hospital and do a lot of social work. I have never been associated with any company of this group,” Tina Ambani told the judge.

Tina Ambani, who deposed as a prosecution witness, attracted a larger crowd in the courtroom than her husband Anil Ambani did yesterday, with some members of the court staff and lawyers even lining up to get her autograph.

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Deposing along the lines that Anil Ambani did yesterday, Tina denied in court of having any knowledge of Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd (STPL).

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According to the CBI, Reliance Telecom used Swan Telecom, which was an ineligible firm to participate in the spectrum auction, as a front company to get 2G licences and spectrum.

Yesterday, Anil Ambani, who was called as a prosecution witness, had also denied having any knowledge of Swan Telecom. (Read full report here )

In the CBI’s application calling for new witnesses, Tina Ambani’s role was described as one were she was authorised to transact on behalf of Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd (TTPL) and Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd (STPL) without any limit and as being party to decisions to sell and purchase shares in Tiger Trader, Zebra Consultants, and Parrot Consultants Pvt Ltd.

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However, Tina Ambani told the court today that she was not aware of Tiger Traders, Zebra Consultants or Parrot Consultants.

Tina Ambani also denied knowledge of contents of documents she had signed on, telling the court, " I have signed these documents, when they were sent to me for signing by the professional team of the companies and I have no reason not to trust them."

On being shown minutes of board meetings of companies in which she was present and asked by the prosecution if she recalled her actions, she told the court, “The business shown to have been transacted must have been transacted, if it has been minuted. Hasit Shukla and Ramesh Venkat used to brief me before a board meeting and they would tell me what was to be done and I would do it.”

Her repeated response of “If it is minuted, it must have transacted” as opposed to Anil Ambani’s stock answer “I don’t recall” to the prosecutions questions yesterday led the judge to observe in a lighter vein “You are better than Anil Ambani. To which, Tina Ambani, said “Thank you, Sir.”

After having been shown a series of documents and minutes that record her role in the company, the prosecution again asked Tina Ambani “On seeing these documents, do you recall your role in these companies as chairperson of some board meetings, authorised signatory for operating bank accounts and as director, wherever you were so?” To which, Tina Ambani told the court, “I do not recall any of my aforesaid role, but if it is so minuted or documented, I must have so acted, as the matter is as old as 2006.”

She further told the court “I do not know Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara at all. I only know that Gautam Doshi is a tax consultant, though I never interacted with him. I also know Gautam Doshi socially. It is wrong to suggest that I know Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair and I am deliberately withholding their role from the Court in the companies mentioned. It is wrong to suggest that I am deliberately withholding his role in companies mentioned.”

Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara are Reliance Telecom executives who are accused in the 2G case.

Tina Ambani told the court, " I am unable to recall the role played by Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara in the companies mentioned.”

(The companies referred to being - ADAE Ventures (P) Limited, AAA Consultancy Services, Tiger Traders, Zebra Consultants, Parrot Consultants and Swan Consultants.)

She also told the court that she did not have any knowledge of a company named Swan Telecom Pvt Limited.

At this point, the prosecution sought the court’s permission to put an adverse question to the witness as she had “not disclosed true facts before this Court regarding identification of some persons and companies and the business conducted in the meetings of these companies.”

Overruling the defence objection’s to the question being put by the prosecution on the grounds that the witness had not contradicted any of prosecution’s documents, the judge said the witness’s “adverseness springs from her not recalling about the companies relating to which she signed the documents. Accordingly, objection is overruled and learned prosecutor is permitted to put one or two question.”

In response to the prosecution’s question, Tina Ambani said that it was wrong to suggest that she knew everything about Tiger Traders, Zebra Consultants, Parrot Consultants and Swan Consultants and that she “deliberately withholding facts” from the Court in this regard.

At end of the day’s proceedings, Tina Ambani surprised everyone by inviting the judge to visit her hospital in Mumbai.

Further examining of witnesses will continue on Monday.

As per the CBI’s case, in January- February, 2007, Reliance Telecom executives Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair, who are accused in the 2G case, “in furtherance of their common intention to cheat the Department of Telecommunications” structured/created the net worth of Swan Telecom Pvt. Ltd (STPL) out of funds from Reliance Telecom or its associates to apply to for UAS Licences in 13 circles (where Reliance Telecom had no GSM spectrum).

This was done in a manner, alleges CBI, that STPL’s association with Reliance Telecom may not be detected and it application rejected for non- compliance with UAS guidelines. (As per the guidelines, “No single company or legal person, either directly or through its associates, shall have equity holding of 10 per cent or more in more than one licensee company in the same service area for Basic, Cellular and Unified Access Service. A promoter company or Legal person cannot have stakes in more than one licensee company for the same service area.)

According to the CBI, Doshi, Nair and Pipara structured STPL’s stakeholdings in a manner that only 9.9 percent equity was held by Reliance Telecom and rest 90.1 per cent was shown to be held by Tiger Traders Pvt. Ltd. although the entire company was held by the Reliance ADA Group of companies through the funds raised from Reliance Telecom and other group companies.

CBI in its application to the court to summon Tina Ambani had said that “Her testimony is required in order to ascertain who was responsible for incorporation of shell companies including Swan, Tiger Traders, Zebra Consultants, Parrot Consultants, the corportate sturucting of STPL, investment and divestments into STPL by Reliance Telecom, Reliance Communications, and other Reliance ADA Group companies, decision to apply for UAS Licences on behalf STPL, pursuing the process of applications with DoT and transfer of Swan Telecom to DB group in Oct 2007.”