Seventeen defendants went on trial in India yesterday in connection with a major corruption scandal involving the sale of telecommunications spectrum nearly four years ago.
The charges stem from the 2008 sale of cellular operating licenses, which resulted in losses of nearly US$36 billion in potential government revenue.
The trial opened at a special court in New Delhi with statements from a prosecution witness.
Former Indian telecoms minister Andimuthu Raja, two ministry officials and several telecom company managers are accused of criminal conspiracy and causing the huge loss. They have said they are not guilty.
Raja has denied any wrongdoing. He was forced to resign from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Cabinet a year ago after the scandal erupted.
The scandal stems from the sale of second-generation (2G) licenses cellular operating licenses under a “first-come, first-serve” process that netted the government 124 billion rupees (US$2.7 billion).
Some licenses were awarded to ineligible participants who in turn sold their stakes at much higher prices than they bought them from the government. The sale of the licenses at far below their commercial rate to selected companies could have cost the treasury up to US$36 billion in lost revenue, the public auditor said.
The scandal has rocked Singh’s administration and helped make corruption one of the country’s hottest political issues.
Following a probe into the allegations, judge O.P. Saini last month concluded that there was enough evidence to try Raja and 16 other defendants on charges including criminal breach of trust, bribery, forgery and cheating.
Raja, a member of the DMK, a key regional party in the Congress party-led coalition, is suspected of rigging rules over the sale of 2G mobile licenses in 2008 to favor some firms in return for kick-backs.
Others alleged of wrongdoing include Kanimozhi, a member of parliament known by one name who is the daughter of DMK chief M. Karunanidhi, senior telecom executives and government officials.
The prosecution is likely to focus on accusations that when allocating the licenses, Raja favored Swan Telecom, alleged to be a front for billionaire Anil Ambani’s Reliance group, and another company called Unitech Wireless.
The federal Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has listed three Reliance group officials as among the first witnesses, a prosecution source said this week.
Raja, 48, a former law student, was denied bail when he was arrested in February and has spent the last nine months in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail, along with several other suspects.
The trial, being held at a CBI special court in New Delhi, is expected to be a lengthy affair because of the complexity of the case, the number of accused and India’s glacial legal system.
Kanimozhi’s lawyers say that while she was politically close to Raja, she did not benefit from his alleged manipulation of the auction system.
The accused all deny any wrongdoing. They face a maximum of life in jail if found guilty.
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