CBI wants Maxis cooperation in 2G scam probe

New Delhi: CBI has approached Malaysia-based Maxis group seeking cooperation in the ongoing probe into allotment of telecom licences between 2001-07 with former Aircel chief C Sivasankaran accusing ex-telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran and his brother of forcing him to sell his controlling stake to the group.

The agency which has quizzed top executives of Standard Chartered Bank, which was the banker in the alleged deal, and recorded the statement of Sivsankaran has now asked the Malaysia-based group to clarify its point of view and cooperate in the ongoing probe, sources said.

They said responsible people in the group have been contacted by the agency recently through email and they have been asked to “co-operate” in the ongoing probe.

Sivasankaran had alleged his applications for licences were rejected when Maran was the telecom minister in 2006, forcing him to sell his company to Maxis, whose owner is considered to be close to Maran and his brother Kalanidhi, who owns Sun TV.

Maran is alleged to have granted 14 licences to Dishnet Wireless (Aircel) during his tenure as the telecom minister.

CBI is looking into financial transactions of Sun TV and Maxis. Besides, it is also looking into various aspects of takeover of Aircel by Maxis group, the sources said.

The probe agency has already registered a preliminary enquiry on issues in 2G spectrum allocation between 2001-07 and is actively looking into matter.

The preliminary inquiry was registered against “unknown persons” following a Supreme Court directive to detect any alleged anomaly in ‘first-come-first-serve’ policy during spectrum allocation between 2001-07.

Maxis has 74 percent stakes in Aircel which has presence in 23 telecom circles—Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Assam, North East, Orissa, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Kolkata, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh (West), Uttar Pradesh (East), Maharashtra and Goa, Mumbai, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Former telecom minister Arun Shourie, who held the charge between 2003-04, has already been questioned by the CBI on 25 February in detail about the allocation of telecom airwaves during his tenure.

Efforts to contact Maxis failed as emails sent to the address given on their website bounced back.

PTI