2G spectrum: CBI seeks details of telcos'' banking transactions

New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) Carrying forward its probe intothe 2G spectrum scam, the CBI has asked the DoT to provide on"top priority" information about the financial transactionsand tripartite agreements between various banks and the 122telecom companies allotted licences in 2008.

In a letter written to the Department of Telecom (DoT),the CBI said the list of 122 allottees of Unified AccessServices (UAS) licenses in the year 2008, duly attested by aDoT official, should be sent to the agency, as the CBI has tofurnish a status report before the Supreme Court in the secondweek of February.

The CBI stated in the letter that papers pertaining toIdea Cellular, Spice Telecom and Shyam Telelink, who wereallotted 2G licenses by the DoT in 2007-08, have not beenfurnished to the CBI.

The CBI asked the DoT to furnish on "top priority" thedetails of instruments through which entry-level fees inrespect of these companies were received by the department,official sources said.

The CBI claimed that some of the allottees had availedcredit facilities from various banks by offering licencesallotted by the DoT as a guarantee.

In addition, S Tel and Loop Telecommunication were alsomentioned by the CBI as among the companies whose tripartiteagreement was not submitted to the CBI by the DoT. The DoT wasasked to furnish the documentation in this regard at theearliest, the sources said.

Widening its probe into the 2G spectrum scam, the CBI hasinitiated a preliminary enquiry (PE) to probe the role ofcertain public sector banks, including State Bank of India,for providing loans to certain companies that were allocated2G spectrum in 2007-08.

The PE was registered by the Bank Securities and FraudCell of the CBI against unknown bank officials.

The allegation is that some banks had violated the laiddown norms and provided finance to old as well as newcompanies that had made forays into the telecom market byprocuring the spectrum auctioned during the said period, thesources said.

This is the second PE registered by the CBI in connectionwith the 2G spectrum scam. Earlier, a regular case was filedagainst unknown officials of the Department of Telecom andprivate companies.

According to the PE, the banks provided loans tocompanies by completely ignoring risk factors, even though theCentral Vigilance Commission (CVC) had already registered acase in the 2G scam and the CBI had begun its probe. MORE PTISKL SKB ARV