Anil Ambani ’meets’ CBI sleuths in Delhi

Reliance Communications has denied that its chief was summoned by the investigating agency

Anil Ambani 'meets' CBI sleuths in Delhi

Reliance Communications has denied that its chief was summoned by the investigating agency

At about 3.30 pm yesterday, Anil Ambani, the 51-year-old Chairman of Reliance Communications 'unexpectedly' reached the CBI headquarters in Delhi. He came in his grey Honda Accord -- which he usually uses whenever he is in the Capital - and made his way inside the CBI office at CGO complex.

Surprise visit: Anil Ambani visited the CBI headquarters in Delhi and left
after three hours. Pic/Imtiyaz Khan

After about three hours of questioning, clad in a white suit, he made his 'secret' exit from the CBI building at about 6.37 pm escorted by the investigating officer of the 2G spectrum case, Additional SP, Vivek Priyadarshi. Sources in the CBI said that Ambani was not summoned. However, after telephonic conversations he had come for a questioning session on Wednesday.

Grey or white car?
Ambani's Honda Accord vanished after dropping him off at the investigating agency's office and while everyone was looking for his car he left the CGO complex in a white Ambassador, which was an official vehicle of the CBI. This was done to trick the huge presence of media persons outside the agency's office.
Every possible step was taken to distract the media and an hour before Ambani actually left the CBI building, gate number 4 was cordoned off by CBI sleuths.

'Left the building'
However, the billionaire businessman eventually came out from a different gate. In fact a car was parked outside gate number 4 to show that he would actually be taken out from that exit to deceive media persons.
Not just that, a CBI official involved in the 2G scam probe came out from gate number 4 and wrongly told the media persons that Ambani had left.

Meanwhile, sources said that the RCom Chief's visit could also be linked with the fact that former Telecom Minister A Raja will be produced in court today and CBI most likely won't get an extension of his custody as they have grilled him for 14 days already.

"It is unlikely that CBI will get more custody of Raja and therefore perhaps Ambani was called as Raja's presence could have helped the agency," CBI sources stated. Anil Ambani appeared here following allegations that his group received favours from the former Telecom Minister in getting dual technology and its interests in Swan Telecom. Reliance Telecom Limited (RTL), a subsidiary of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) has 9.9 equity share capital in Swan Telecom.

CBI had even questioned Unitech's (which Tata is believed to have aided with about Rs 1,700 crore) Managing Director Sanjay Chandra and Loop Mobile's Chief Executive Officer Sandip Basu. Two senior officials of Tata Teleservices, Sanjay Ubale and Kishore Saltore were also quizzed by the CBI on Tuesday.

$13.7 billion
Anil Ambani's estimated net worth

What rcom says
"No summons of any kind have been issued by the CBI to Mr Ambani. The meeting with the CBI officials came about during Ambani's weekly visit to New Delhi. Neither Reliance Communications, nor any individual from the group held a single share in Swan Telecom when it was granted a licence and spectrum in 2008 or thereafter.
Neither Reliance Telecom, nor Reliance Communications, nor any Reliance ADA Group individual, company or affiliate has obtained any monetary gain or other benefit, directly or indirectly, from the grant of 2G licence to Swan Telecom in January 2008. Contrary to reporting in a section of the media, the enquiries by CBI and other authorities are by no means specific to RCOM, and instead, have already reportedly covered more than 50 people from across a large number of telecom operators."