'Stakes of RCom, Essar within permissible limit'

Swan Telecom, now known as Etisalat DB, and Loop Telecom, which have come under the CBI probe into 2G spectrum scam, today told the Supreme Court that the stake of Reliance Communications (RCom) and Essar Group respectively in their companies were within the permissible limit to be eligible for the allocation of the radio waves.

Both the companies said Anil Ambani Group firm RCom and Ruia's controlled Essar Group had less than 10% share capital in Etisalat and Loop Telecom when they applied for 2G licences during the tenure of A Raja as Telecom Minister.

Shahid Usman Balwa, promotor of Swan and Director of Etisalat DB, has aready been arrested and was confronted with Anil Ambani during the investigation by CBI.

Essar Group CEO, Prashant Ruia, was also summoned by CBI for examination and was confronted with Loop Telecom's CEO Sandeep Basu recently.

It was alleged that both the companies were ineligible for 2G spectrum as ADAG and Essar had more than 10% shares in Swan and Loop respectively.

As per the rules and regulation for the allotment, no company or firm can apply for licences bundled with start-up spectrum in which any telecom operator has equity of more than 10%.