New Delhi:
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday filed a supplementary charge sheet before Special CBI judge O P Saini in the 2G spectrum scam case. DMK president M Karunanidhi's wife, Dayalu Ammal, his daughter Kanimozhi and former Telecom minister A Raja were among those charge-sheeted now.
Filed through Special Public Prosecutor Naveen Kumar Matta, the charge sheet has charged nine companies and 10 individuals including former telecom minister A Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi under various provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The ED has also named Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd (STPL) promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka. DMK president Karunanidhi's wife Dayalu Ammal, who is a 60 per cent stake-holder in Kalaignar TV, has also been charge-sheeted.
The ED claims to have proof that the accused were involved in a money laundering scheme, whereby the STPL promoters paid Rs. 200 crore to DMK-run Kalaignar TV using their group entity DYnamix Realty. The payment was meant as gratification to Raja and his associates in return for illegal favours given to STPL for the grant of the Unified Access Services License, they said. However, it was given along with an additional amount of Rs. 23.55 crore, to disguise the payment in the garb of a loan, they added.
An effort was made to project tainted funbds as untainted in two ways, says the ED. First, the money flowed from Dynamix Realty to the channel, and subsequently returned from the latter to the former. This structuring of funds for layering of illegal gratification fell squarely within the purview of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, says the charge sheet.
If convicted, the accused are liable to serve jail time for not less than three years, and could even be sentenced to the maximum of seven years. They can also be directed to pay a fine up to Rupees five lakh.
The directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd, Asif Balwa and Rajiv Aggarwal, Bollywood producer Karim Morani and Kalaignar TV Managing Director Sharad Kumar have also been named as accused in the case.
Raja, Kanimozhi, Shahid Balwa, Vinod Goenka, Asif Balwa, Rajiv Aggarwal, Karim Morani and Sharad Kumar are also facing trial in the 2G scam case in which CBI had earlier filed charge sheets on April 2 and 25, 2011. Raja and Kanimozhi had already been questioned by the agency in the case.
Earlier, the ED had scrutinised documents related to the incomes, properties and personal investments of the MPs. It had also initiated attachment proceedings under PMLA against other individuals and certain telecom firms involved in the case.
The court will consider whether to take cognisance of the charge sheet on April 30.
