Court summons Raja, Kanimozhi in laundering case

Special CBI Judge asked all the accused to appear in court, saying there is 'enough incriminating material' to proceed against them

Former telecom minister A Raja, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi and 17 other accused were on Friday summoned to appear on May 26 by a Delhi court which took cognisance of the chargesheet filed in connection with a money laundering case related to the 2G spectrum scam by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Special Central Bureau of Investigation Judge O P Saini asked all the accused, including DMK chief M Karunanidhi’s wife Dayalu Ammal, to appear before it, saying there is “enough incriminating material” on record to proceed against them.

“I have carefully considered the submissions made at the bar in the light of the material on record. Since the complaint has been filed by a public servant, there is no need to examine him. On perusal of the material on record, I am satisfied that there is enough incriminating material on record to proceed against the accused persons. Accordingly, I take cognisance of the case,” the judge said.  

ED had filed its chargesheet against 19 accused, including 10 individuals and nine companies, on April 25 in the money laundering case. The ED prosecutor had claimed that a transaction of Rs 200 crore, allegedly paid to DMK-run Kalaignar TV, was “not genuine” and it was a “bribe for grant of telecom licences to DB Group companies”.  On the alleged role of Raja, ED had said being the telecom minister, he was having the principal role in allotment of licences and he “assisted” in money laundering. It had said Dayalu Ammal, who was also chargesheeted, was holding 60 per cent shares in Kalaignar TV and co-accused Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar had 20 per cent each.

Besides Raja, Kanimozhi and Dayalu Ammal, ED also named promoters of Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd (STPL) Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka as accused in the case. Directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd, Asif Balwa and Rajiv Aggarwal, Bollywood producer Karim Morani, P Amirtham and Kalaignar TV Managing Director Sharad Kumar were also named as accused.

ED also named as accused STPL, Kusegaon Realty Pvt Ltd (formerly known as Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd), Cineyug Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd (formerly known as Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd), Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd, Dynamix Realty, Eversmile Construction Company Pvt Ltd, Conwood Constructions and Developers (P) Ltd, DB Realty Ltd and Nihar Constructions Pvt Ltd.

The court had on Wednesday reserved the order on the issue of taking cognisance after hearing arguments advanced by ED in which the agency said that prima facie a case of money laundering was made out against the 19 accused.

The ED prosecutor had told the court that their investigation in the case emanates from the 2G scam and the accused allegedly conspired and committed the scheduled offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The prosecutor had claimed that the transaction of Rs 200 crore, which was allegedly paid to DMK-run Kalaignar TV, was "not genuine" and it was a "bribe for grant of telecom licences to DB Group companies".

On the alleged role of Raja, ED had said, being the telecom minister, he was having the principal role in allotment of licences and he "assisted" in the offence of money laundering. It had said DMK supremo M Karunanidhi's wife Dayalu Ammal, who was also chargesheeted, was holding 60 per cent shares in Kalaignar TV whereas co-accused Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar were having a stake of 20 per cent each.

ED had also alleged there was a "reverse trail" of money from Kalaignar TV to Dynamix Realty through Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd (CFPL) and Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd (KFVPL). It had claimed the accused had attempted to show that these transactions were genuine but surprisingly the reverse trail of money started when Raja was called by the CBI for questioning in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation case.