Payment camouflaged as business transactions: ED official

An Enforcement Directorate (ED) official Monday told a special court hearing the 2G money laundering case that the payment was camouflaged as business transactions to hide the actual crime.

Testifying as a prosecution witness, Prabhakant, who was posted as a joint director in the Enforcement Directorate in 2011, told the court that he was supervising the probe.

Former telecom minister A. Raja, DMK parliamentarian Kanimozhi, Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka of Swan Telecom, Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables, film producer Karim Morani, DMK chief M. Karunanidhi's wife Dayalu Ammal and Kalaignar TV's Sharad Kumar and P. Amirthan are facing trial in the case.

Cineyug Media and Entertainment, Kalaignar TV, Dynamix Realty, Eversmile Construction, Conwood Construction and Developers, DB Realty and Nihar Construction were also named as accused.

The ED official told the court that around Rs.200 crore was paid by the promoters of Swan Telecom, using their group firm Dynamix Realty, to Kalaignar TV via Kusegaon and Cineyug in the garb of a legitimate financial transaction.

He said the accused has failed to explain the purpose of investment by Kusegoan, a agriculture and allied products firm, to Cineyug, a cinematography company.

"... these were not simple business transactions to hide the actual nature of proceeds of crime, which was given by DB group of concerns, in lieu of the favours given by A. Raja to Swan Telecom Private Limited (STPL) while granting the UAS (unified access service) licence," the ED official told court.

The chargesheet said the payment was illegal gratification for, and on behalf of, Raja and his associates in lieu of illegal favours to Swan Telecom for the grant of telecom licence.

The court Oct 31 framed charges of money laundering against Raja, his party colleague Kanimozhi and others.