ED starts fresh questioning of telecom firms in 2G scam

Official sources said the Directorate has recently started fresh questioning of representatives of certain telecom firms after analysing thousands of pages of documents submitted by them during the first interaction.

The documents submitted by the firms pertained to their income tax returns, shareholding patterns, subsidiaries and funding routes, the sources said.

The ED had registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and is working in close cooperation with the CBI which is also investigating the scam.

Sources said the fresh questioning will focus on funding routes and their subsidiaries in tax haven countries like Mauritius.

The Directorate will also look into the stake sellout deals carried out by certain firms after bagging the spectrum.

Sources said the ED, meanwhile, is also focusing on hawala operators allegedly connected with the scam. The Directorate had recently joined CBI in its raids across different locations in Delhi, Noida and Tamil Nadu including the premises of two brothers, alleged to be hawala operators.

Both ED and CBI are exchanging notes on the seized documents and have been holding extensive meetings with each other on the case.

The ED, which has already sought the assistance from about 10 foreign countries for information regarding certain firms associated with the case, is also preparing grounds for sending out Letters Rogatory.

Former telecom minister A Raja was forced to resign from the post on November 14 in the wake of 2G spectrum allocation controversy.

The CAG report had pointed out that the rates at which 2G spectrum was allotted to telecom companies resulted in loss to the tune of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer.