The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday issued show cause notices to telecom firms and other entities for alleged foreign exchange violations of Rs 3,805 crore. The notices are part of ED’s investigation into the 2G spectrum allocation case. Companies related to Swan Telecom have been charged for more than Rs 3,200 crore.
While Swan Telecom owners and 2G case accused Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka controlled DB Realty was given notice for Rs 2,831 crore, Swan Telecom’s shareholder and DMK Chief M Karunanidhi’s close associate Sayed Salahuddin’s ETA Star property developers were charged Rs 399.50 crore. Essar Group related loop Telecom was given notice for Rs 549 crore and loop Mobile (India) was fined for Rs 26 crore under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), sources said.
The ED has been investigating financial transactions and role of these firms in the 2G spectrum case for sometime and the agency issued notices after going through all the evidence on record and information received from these respective firms, the sources said. The notices sent to these companies have cited various charges of violation of RBI guidelines in place for receipt of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and routing of funds to and from foreign shores.
The agency, besides the CBI, has been probing money laundering and forex violation instances against the firms involved in the 2G case and have earlier issued similar notices to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore in the same case against various other firms. The show cause notices can be challenged by the firms in the appellate authority of the FEMA which acts as a quasi-judicial court.