Anil Ambani faces PAC on Swan stake

Reliance Telecommunications chairman Anil Ambani faced on Tuesday a parliamentary panel that quizzed him on his company’s stakes in Swan Telecom and other aspects related to the 2G spectrum scam.

Reliance Telecommunications chairman Anil Ambani faced on Tuesday a parliamentary panel that quizzed him on his company’s stakes in Swan Telecom and other aspects related to the 2G spectrum scam.

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Ambani defended the first-come-first-served policy of allocating 2G spectrum, arguing that there weren’t enough players when the allotment was done. But he favoured auctioning of 3G spectrum.

Ambani began his 90-minute interaction with the public accounts committee (PAC) by pointing out that he might not be able to answer some questions, as the matter was sub judice.

But the PAC, sources said, would verify whether the points Ambani refused to discuss were actually sub judice.

Reliance Telecom is among the companies named in the charge sheet that the CBI filed in the Supreme Court in the 2G spectrum case. Three top officials of group were accused of setting up Swan telecom as a front company for acquiring more spectrum than was permitted in 2008, when A Raja of the DMK was telecom minister.

Ambani – who had to wait for more than an hour before being called in and spent nearly 15 minutes looking for his car after the meeting – faced a volley of questions on his company’s stakes in Swan and investments in Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd that also had stakes in Swan.

On several points, Ambani claimed that he needed to check documents, to which Joshi reportedly said the man who had never required to consult papers now wanted to do so.