Uninor denies being favoured by A Raja
Cellphone operator Uninor on Thursday denied allegations that it was given any undue favours by former telecoms minister A Raja during his controversial spectrum allocation process in 2008.
The Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) has named Uninor, along with Etisalat DB, of being treated preferentially by A Raja during the time period of the alleged 2G spectrum scam that purportedly led to a loss of about Rs 22,000 crore to the national exchequer.
Trashing the allegations, Uninor on Thursday said that it was ?highly incorrect? to allege that it was shown any favours during the license process.
?Unitech Ltd. obtained the telecom licenses (through its 8 wholly-owned subsidiaries) along with 8 other players, after complying with the necessary formalities prescribed in the applicable Department of Telecom guidelines at a cost determined by the Government,? said the company in a statement.
It also asserted that Norway?s Telenor Group had only pitched in the first round of investments in March 2009, 13 months after the allocation process. Telenor has invested Rs 6,135 crores in four rounds in the joint-venture along with India?s Unitech, the company said.
?Unitech Ltd. has not sold any shares held by it in Uninor to the Telenor Group. This additional capital, from Telenor, has come into Uninor and remains within Uninor and has not gone to any promoter to result in any profits,? the statement added.
Meanwhile, ex-minister A Raja on Thursday was sent to a five-day custody of the CBI to be interrogated along with two aides by a Delhi court where he was produced following his arrest on Wednesday.
