How Aircel's Sivasankaran came to owe Tata group companies Rs 9 billion

The business dealings between Sivasankaran, a close friend of group patriarch Ratan Tata, and the Tata group dates back to 2006

Chennai-based C Sivasankaran group, facing a Central Bureau of India investigation probe for defaulting on a Rs 7-billion bank loan, also owes close to Rs 9 billion to various Tata group companies. Over the past few years, the Tata group, including its holding company Tata Sons, has written off these loans calling them "doubtful recovery."

According to a source, the Siva group defaulted on a payment of Rs 6.94 billion to Tata Sons in 2016 for its share in the acquisition of a stake from Japanese telecom major, NTT Docomo. This led to Tata Sons paying the money to Docomo from its