Telenor wipes its hands off 2G spectrum probe

Says got govt clearance in investments in Unitech Wireless

Cracks in the telecom joint venture Uninor became wider today when the Norwegian partner Telenor issued a statement distancing itself from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) proceedings on Unitech Wireless.

Telenor said it invested in the operating company, Unitech Wireless, and not in its promoters. "Telenor has zero tolerance for corruption. If any malpractice has occurred, those responsible must be brought to book," the company said.

On Saturday, the CBI had filed a chargesheet on Unitech Managing Director Sanjay Chandra, as a part of the ongoing 2G spectrum scam investigation. Telenor claimed the CBI chargesheet names Sanjay Chandra as the managing director of Unitech and also names Unitech Wireless for actions when it was a fully-owned Unitech company.

"This was a period prior to Telenor group entering India. Unitech Wireless will argue its case in court, and we expect Chandra to do the same," Telenor said, in an attempt to clear its name from the corruption charges.

The 2G scam is one of the biggest scandals to hit the government, which saw high-profile arrests, including former telecom minister A Raja. The discrepancies in telecom licence allocations by Raja have led the CBI to question all companies which received them in 2008. Unitech, too, obtained these licences in the same period. Later, it sold 67.2 per cent stake to Telenor for Rs 6,120 crore.

"When Telenor invested in Unitech Wireless, it was in a company that already had a genuine licence issued by the Indian government with all necessary approvals. These investments were cleared by the Government of India at each stage," the company claimed.

Meanwhile, the two companies — Telenor and Unitech — are fighting over a rights issue of the joint venture. Telenor had initiated a rights issue last month, which was stalled by Unitech through a stay order. Unitech had then said it believes the rights issue is not in the best interests of the shareholders and has even alleged that Telenor was trying to increase its stake by insisting on a rights issue that can be as high as Rs 8,200 crore.

Telenor had already spoken of its intention to petition the court to vacate the stay order. It said Uninor, which had 21 million subscribers, needs funds for investment.

"It is Telenor group’s intention to fight for its rights and continue the operational progress that has been achieved in the Indian market," the group said.