Trial court to pass order on Essar Group promoters on 21 December
17 Dec 2011
The special trial court hearing the 2G spectrum scam today reserved its order for 21 December on taking cognisance of Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) chargesheet against the promoters of Essar Group and Loop Telecom.
Special CBI Judge O P Saini, after hearing the investigating agencies' arguments, said he will pronounce the order on taking cognisance of the offence on Wednesday.
The CBI's arguments on the chargesheet accused Essar and Loop promoters of conspiring to cheat the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
CBI said the accused persons and companies created a "complex corporate veil" to cheat DoT by concealing that Essar group had substantial shares in another operator Vodafone.
Under the universal access service license (UASL), or the telecom license, guidelines bar an existing operator from holding 10 per cent or more equity in another telecom company in same circle. Therefore, Loop was ineligible for the licences.