Author: J Gopikrishnan
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: March 01, 2011
URL: http://dailypioneer.com/320982/WiMax-probe-widens-Raja's-trouble-spectrum.html
More trouble is in store for the jailed former
Telecom Minister, with the Department of Telecom (DoT) and Central Vigilance
Commission (CVC) starting their investigations into the dubious allotment
of BSNL's WiMax franchise to A Raja's "friendly" companies.
The investigations are expected to look into
the role of - besides Raja's - the former Minister's "cronies" in
BSNL, who forged documents for the shell companies.
According to sources, the CVC - which is probing
the WiMax franchise allotment - has unearthed evidence to establish the "dubious"
role played by top men in BSNL headquarters and senior officials in the coveted
southern telecom projects circle.
After controversial dual policy and 2G spectrum
allotments, which caused losses worth Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer,
Raja's third master plan of loot was granting BSNL's WiMax franchise to "friendly"
companies. He attempted thrice to allot WiMax franchise to a friendly company
in Malaysia in different ways and even misled Parliament on the qualification
of the shell companies.
All these attempts were exposed by The Pioneer
from March 2009 onward through a series of news articles.
In March 2009, the BSNL headquarters was arm-twisted
to shortlist a newly-floated company, Wellcom Communications India, which
was allegedly a benami company of Raja and his associates. Eighty-five per
cent shares of the company were owned by Raja's close friend Dato Vijayakumar,
a Tamil-origin Malaysian national.
This business tycoon owns a conglomerate,
known as Wellcom Communications, in Malaysia. The remaining 15 per cent in
the newly-floated Indian arm was controlled by T Silvarjaoo, a CPWD sub-contractor
from Raja's hometown Peramballur. He was also among those raided by the CBI
in December last year when the agency was searching for Raja's ill-gotten
money.
When this move was exposed by The Pioneer,
Raja plotted a new design in April 2009, the fag end of UPA-I Government.
The BSNL headquarters in Delhi shortlisted five companies, all of which were
formed on a single date with same notary, same witnesses and the same e-mail
ID. All these companies had the authorised capital of Rs 1 lakh and were formed
by one Sanjay Kapoor, a frequenter to Raja's office.
In UPA-II, in June 2009, the PMO intervened
and cancelled the move, ordering fresh Expression of Interest (EoI) with stringent
norms to prevent the entry of shell companies. The new norms mandated that
the participating companies should be from telecom sector and have an annual
turnover of Rs 100 crore in the last two years. Raja then shifted the selection
process to southern telecom projects circle in Chennai.
By January 2010, BSNL shortlisted Ampoules
and Auto Private Ltd, another little known and non-functional company from
Kolkata. This company, with zero turnover, was even issued a Letter of Intent
(LoI) as WiMax franchisee in six States along with other three companies.
The Kolkata firm was taken over by Raja's
friendly Malaysian company, Wellcom Communication, during the process of selection
in September 2009.
Sources said the BSNL officials in southern
telecom projects circle were also forced to accept the forged documents which
claimed inflated annual turnover above Rs 100 crore per year, while documents
with the Registrar of Companies proved otherwise. Ampoules and Auto Private
Ltd had had no turnover for the past two decades.
In March 2010, after The Pioneer had exposed
this fraud through a series of reports, the Telecom Ministry blatantly lied
in Parliament that the company from Kolkata had an annual turnover of more
than Rs 100 crore.
Sources said Malaysian tycoon Dato Vijayakumar
was already on the radar of CBI and Enforcement Directorate for "placing"
Raja's ill-gotten wealth. Apart from BSNL's, MTNL's WiMax franchise allotment
is also under the scanner of CVC, said sources, adding that the selection
procedure "prima facie seems wrong".
