'Marans forced me to sell Aircel much below market price'

Entrepreneur C Sivasankaran has alleged before CBI sleuths that he was forced to sell his company Aircel much below market price as he was not allowed to get it properly evaluated, sources have disclosed to HT.

Entrepreneur C Sivasankaran has alleged before CBI sleuths that he was forced to sell his company Aircel much below market price as he was not allowed to get it properly evaluated, sources have disclosed to HT.

HT Image

Sivasankaran's statement was recorded by the CBI on Monday. Some more details about his statement to the investigative agency have emerged.

According to sources, Sivasankaran has alleged that he was forced by the Maran brothers - Dayanidhi and Kalanidhi - to sell his company Aircel to Malaysia-based telecom firm Maxis at around $800 million.

He has alleged he could have got more money by selling Aircel had he got it properly evaluated. But he was forced to sell it without its proper valuation under pressure.

"Sivasankaran has provided names of 10 witnesses, which include some lawyers, merchant bankers. We will speak to them to find out whether he has told the whole truth about Aircel-Maxis deal or not," said a probe agency source.

He has also alleged that when Dayanidhi Maran was telecom minister between May 2004 and mid-2007, the department of telecommunication (DoT) didn't approve his company's applications for licence in some telecom circles.

Therefore he was forced to sell Aircel to Maxis.

According to the CBI, they also want to see what commercial gain Sun Direct TV - a company owned by Dayanidhi Maran - got by getting investment from a sister concern of Maxis.