Etisalat denies any link to India's 2G licence scandal
Scam began before company entered country
Dubai: Etisalat denied any culpability on Sunday in the ongoing Indian 2G spectrum scandal that, according to a major probe, may have cost Indian taxpayers as much as $39 billion (Dh143.25 billion) in lost revenues from the allocation of licences at vastly undervalued prices.
In a filing yesterday with the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, obtained by Gulf News, Oussama Al Rifai, etisalat acting group chief financial officer, made it abundantly clear that January 2008 matters now under investigation by authorities happened well before the company entered India.
"The charges are related to events that occurred at least one year prior to etisalat's investment in Swan [Telecom] — subsequently renamed EDB. Etisalat had no knowledge of any wrongdoing in the licence application process for Swan and had no involvement in it," Al Rifai said in the filing.
Etisalat holds a stake of 44.7 per cent in Emirates DB and said that on Saturday formal charges "were framed against Swan Tele-com" related to the 2G spectrum investigation by Indian authorities.
No basis
Al Rifai said etisalat's vetting of the facts "has not established any basis for the charges levied against EDB and it expects EDB to defend the charges resolutely".
In its interim third-quarter filing to ADX, etisalat confirmed that on "April 2, 2011, the Central Bureau of Investigation of India filed a charge sheet alleging certain irregularities at the time of grant of the telecom licence to Swan Telecom Private Limited … along with certain other operators".
