DoT brings up Vodafone wire tapping issue

Greece's telecom regulator had fined Vodafone Greece 170 mn Euros for wiretapping, reports M Rajendran.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is understood to have brought up the matter of a Vodafone subsidiary having been involved in a wiretapping case in Greece, during its meeting with top Vodafone officials earlier this week, even as Vodafone's CEO Arun Sarin himself is slated to arrive in India on Wednesday.

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Greece's telecom regulator, the Authority for Communications Security and Secrecy (ADAE), had earlier this year fined Vodafone Greece 170 million Euros for its role in the wiretapping.

Last year, the Greek government disclosed the existence of a secret wiretapping operation, which had tracked the cell phone calls of more than 100 prominent politicians, journalists and businessmen, including that of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

Phone tapping is a sensitive issue in India as well, with politicians led by Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, alleging that their phones were being tapped. The matter is now under review of the Supreme Court.