2G case: Anil Ambani attended RTL meet for investing in Swan, says witness

Anil Ambani, chairman of Reliance ADAG, had attended the meeting of Reliance Telecom in which the board had "noted" that investment of Rs 992 crore in Swan Telecom was a "long-term strategic investment", a prosecution witness in the 2G spectrum case told a Delhi court.

Sateesh Seth, non-executive Director of Reliance Telecom (RTL) and a chartered accountant, said he, Anil Ambani, SP Shukla and Gautam Doshi, an accused in the case, had attended the April 29, 2007, board meeting of RTL.

"I have also been shown a certified true copy of extract of the minutes of the meeting of board of directors of Reliance Telecom Limited held on April 29, 2007. I myself attended this meeting. This meeting was also attended by SP Shukla, Gautam Doshi and Anil Ambani.

"In this meeting, the board noted that 'investment in 99,20,000 - 8% non-cumulative redeemable preference shares (NCRPS) each of Re 1 each at a premium of Rs 999 per preference share aggregating to Rs 992 crore of Swan Telecom [P] Limited [STPL] was in the nature of long-term strategic investment," Seth told Special CBI Judge OP Saini.

Seth, whose recording of statement concluded today, also said Anil Ambani was among the authorised signatories of Tiger Traders (P) Ltd, Zebra Consultants (P) Ltd, Swan Consultants (P) Ltd and ADAE Ventures (P) Ltd, all alleged associates of Reliance ADA Group, from September-October 2006.

Reliance ADAG top executives Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair are facing trial for their alleged roles in the 2G case.

Besides them, RTL has also been put on trial by the court which had said Shahid Usman Balwa-promoted Swan Telecom, also an accused in the case, was "just a mask" for it. They, however, have denied all the allegations levelled against them.