Highly-placed sources in the agency said Balwa was arrested from his Bandra residence here this evening and would be taken to Delhi for being confronted with former Telecom Minister A Raja whose CBI custody was extended by two more days on Tuesday. The arrest of Balwa comes two days before the 2G case comes up for hearing in the Supreme Court. He would be produced before a magistrate tomorrow for transit remand to Delhi.
Balwa-promoted DB Reality floated Swan Telecom. Raja allegedly helped Swan bag 2G licences for 13 circles, including Mumbai and Delhi, for Rs 1,537 crore but Swan sold 45 per cent shares to the UAE telecom giant Etisalat for approximately Rs 4,500 crore within months of bagging the spectrum.
The sources claimed CBI has evidence from the Income Tax department that Balwa, considered close to Raja, was instrumental in channelling the kickbacks allegedly received by the former Telecom Minister from the sale of 2G spectrum.
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