Enforcement Directorate to initiate attachment proceedings against telecom firms

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated attachment proceedings against some of the telecommunications companies that had illegally gained about Rs.2,000 crore each following the grant of 2G spectrum and licences.

K K Venugopal, senior counsel for the ED, today informed the Supreme Court  that it had initiated the proceedings of recovering the money from the companies and the entire process would take a couple of months. The ED has gathered evidence from 34 witnesses against these companies.

The names of the companies were not revealed, as the information was passed on to the Supreme Court in a sealed envelope. The ED was presenting its fresh status report on the 2G scam to the court. It said that investigation was in progress regarding the involvement of five companies, registered in Virgin Islands, in the 2G scam.

''It (the attachment proceedings) will be done in two months time against the companies whose names have been mentioned in the complaints,'' Venugopal told the court. ''We have to collect details of their properties as many of the companies keep benami properties.''

The attachment orders are expected to be issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) against the companies. The ED also gave details of the financial transactions of the companies with Shahid Balwa's DB Relaty, involving a movement of Rs.1,400 crore.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is also conducting a probe into the scam, in its status report to the apex court, mentioned that the notification appointing U.U. Lalit as special public prosecutor in the 2G scam had been notified.