2G case: Anil Ambani appears as a witness

Ambani was earlier asked to come on July 26, but court allowed him exemption on the basis of prior commitments

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Reliance ADAG Chairman Anil Ambani appeared on Thursday as a prosecution witness before the trial court here in the 2G telecom spectrum case. He said he did not recall if his Reliance Telecom made an investment of 9.9 per cent in equity shares of Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd (STPL), allegedly a front company for his own.

"It is wrong to suggest that it was in my knowledge that STPL had applied for a UAS (Unified Access Service) Licence for the J&K service area in 2007. I cannot recall if RTL had made an investment to the extent of 9.9 per cent in equity shares in STPL," Ambani testified.

Also: "It is wrong to suggest that it was in my knowledge that the structure of STPL be created in such a manner that its real ownership should not be known. It is wrong to suggest that I am not disclosing the true facts to this court in order to save the accused from legal punishment."

He also said he did not recall the board meetings at AAA Consultancy Services, as the minutes were not prepared by him.

The Central Bureau of Investigation had alleged AAA Consultancy Services was one of the associate companies of Reliance ADAG, whose group firm, Reliance Telecom, used Swan Telecom, an ineligible company, as the front to get the 2G licences.

The board meetings for setting up of the firm were held from January 2005. "I attend a large number of meetings and I do not recall. I am going by the records only," Ambani told judge O P Saini.  

Saini then told Ambani, "But you do not maintain false records. Your record must be correct."

"The records should be correct," Ambani replied."Sir, I want to take a call. One, I do not recall now. Second, minutes are not prepared by me. It is prepared by the secretarial staff. I do not recall.” Tina Ambani, the wife of Anil Ambani, will appear before the court on Friday as a witness.

The trial court on July 19 had said the CBI's plea to summon Anil Ambani, Tina Ambani and 11 others as prosecution witnesses was essential for arriving at a just decision in the case.

Anil was earlier asked to come on July 26 but the court allowed him exemption after he pleaded that he had "pre-scheduled" business engagements. The court had then issued fresh summons. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court refused to pass an order on a petition seeking a stay on the trial court summons to him.

CBI had told the court that Ambani was part of the decision to invest Rs 992 crore in Swan Telecom and he should made a witness to further the cause of justice. The agency also said Tina Ambani had presided over the meetings of the holding companies of Swan Telecom.

Three officials of R-ADAG (Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara), Reliance Telecom, Swan Telecom and its promoters, Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, are facing trial in the case, besides former telecom minister A Raja and Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi.