CBI seeks details of telcos' banking transactions

Carrying forward its probe into the 2G spectrum scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to provide on “top priority” information about the financial transactions and tripartite agreements between various banks and the 122 telecom companies that were allotted licences in 2008.

In a letter written to DoT, CBI said the list of 122 allottees of Unified Access Services (UAS) licences in 2008, duly attested by a DoT official, should be sent to the agency, as CBI had to furnish a status report before the Supreme Court in the second week of February.

CBI stated in the letter that papers pertaining to Idea Cellular, Spice Telecom and Shyam Telelink, who were allotted 2G licences by DoT in 2007-08, had not been furnished to CBI.

CBI also asked DoT to furnish on “top priority” the details of instruments through which entry-level fees in respect of these companies were received by the department, official sources said.

CBI claimed some of the allottees had availed of credit facilities from various banks by offering licences allotted by DoT as guarantee.

In addition, S Tel and Loop Telecommunication were also mentioned by CBI as among the companies whose tripartite agreement was not submitted to CBI by DoT. DoT was asked to furnish the documentation in this regard at the earliest, the sources said.

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

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

The allegation was that some banks had violated the norms and provided finance to old as well as new companies that had made forays into the telecom market by procuring the spectrum auctioned during the period, the sources said.