Aircel-Maxis deal- CBI charges baseless: Astro

Astro said it was separate from Maxis Communications Bhd, adding "there is no cross-holding between the two firms"

Astro All Asia Networks Ltd (AAANL), one of the four companies chargesheeted by the Central Board of Investigation (CBI) for alleged wrongdoing in the Aircel-Maxis deal, on Tuesday denied the allegations, saying these were “unfounded and baseless”. The firm said it was taking all steps to defend the charges that might be levelled against it, its directors and its subsidiaries.

In a statement, Astro said it was separate from Maxis Communications Bhd, which bought Aircel, adding “there is no cross-holding between the two firms”.

Last week, the CBI had filed a charge sheet against former Union minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother and Sun Group promoter Kalanithi Maran and six others in the Aircel-Maxis case. The CBI also named Kuala Lumpur-based business tycoon T Ananda Krishnan and the director of Malaysian Maxis, Ralph Marshall, for offences punishable under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Sun Direct and Malaysia’s Maxis Communications are the other companies named in the charge sheet. “While AAANL has not been formally notified nor served any charge sheet…AAANL categorically denies the allegations,” said a company statement.

The company said the investments in question were publicly disclosed transactions and approvals in this regard had been secured from India and Malaysia, shareholders of AAANL, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

The CBI has acknowledged investigation in the case is still incomplete and that any charge sheet will be bereft of any evidence from Malaysia.

The decision to file charge sheets in these circumstances violated, among others, the principle that investigations must be conducted fairly and thoroughly before reaching any conclusion, said the AAANL statement.

In April 2007, South Asia Entertainment Holdings, AAANL’s wholly-owned subsidiary, entered into a contract for 20 per cent strategic interest in Sun Direct for Rs 990 crore.

However, ENAM Financial Consultants, a merchant bank, determined the valuation of Sun Direct to be Rs 3,466-4,039 crore, significantly more than the valuation at which AAANL had invested in Sun Direct.