2G scam: ED to issue Letters Rogatory

The Enforcement Directorate will soon issue Letters Rogatory to ten countries as part of its probe in the multi-crore 2G spectrum scam.
Official sources said the Directorate, which has already contacted its counterparts in 10 countries, where imprints of the telecom scam are allegedly visible, will now adopt a formal route.
They said the ED will soon seek for LRs to be issued in connection with the case, asking for details about financial transactions and background of certain entities doing business in those countries.
A Letter Rogatory is a formal request issued by a competent court to a foreign court and processed by the Ministry of External Affairs on behalf of the investigative agencies to obtain information about individuals and entities.

Sources said the ten countries in question include tax havens like Isle of Man, Cyprus and Mauritius besides UAE, Norway, Singapore, Libya, and Russia.
They said ED feels that some entities operating in those countries were connected with the spectrum allocation besides certain others who later bought stakes in Indian companies that had bagged the allocation.
Most of the companies that had bagged the spectrum had their subsidiaries and business partners situated in foreigncountries.
Untangling the financial transactions web spread across various countries is what the ED is focusing on.
The ED has already finished the first round of its probe with all the main telecom companies allegedly involved in the scam.
The companies have submitted details about their financial transactions, foreign holding, the financial backers and information about their subsidiaries.
The Directorate, which has studied the details closely, will now have a second round of questioning with the telecom firms.
The Central Bureau is already investigating the case and had recently conducted raids at the premises of certain former telecom Ministry officials and former Telecom Minister A Raja.
The ED has registered a case in this connection under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

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