Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka, the promoters of DB Realty, have a common background -- both are college drop-outs and came from families that, directly or indirectly, dealt in real estate.
Shahid Balwa's counsel has accused the CBI of adopting selective approach in arresting people in the case.
Shahid U Balwa, one of the promoters of the leading real estate company, DB Realty, as well as the controversial Swan Telecom (now Etilisat DB Telecom), has been questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Piyush Goyal, treasurer of Bhartiya Janata party and noted charted accountant, has confirmed that he did advise D B Realty -- a Shahid Balwa company, one of the prime accused in 2G spectrum scam -- for raising equity by going to the public.
Somesh Jha describes the mood at Patiala House courtroom and outside on Thursday during the 2G spectrum case verdict.
The developments came as the CBI custody of Raja, who was arrested by the investigating agency on February 2, ended on Thursday.
The Gujarati college dropout Shahid Balwa, and a Pakistani exporter Mian Muhammad Mansha are among the 97 billionaires worldwide who have made their debut in the latest Forbes rich-list.
Former Telecom Minister A Raja had "misled" then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh regarding policy of first-come-first-served which was to be followed for allocation of 2G spectrum, Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday told a special court.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi on Thursday sought the dismissal of a Central Bureau of Investigation plea seeking special court's permission to summon some additional witnesses, including Enforcement Directorate Deputy Director Rajeshwar Singh, in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
Former telecom minister A Raja, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi and 17 others were on Friday chargesheeted by the Enforcement Directorate in a special court in connection with a money-laundering case relating to the 2G spectrum allocation scam in which the party-run Kalaignar TV was allegedly paid Rs 200 crore by the promoters of Swan Telecom.
The flight carrying senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders which developed a mysterious snag in New Delhi on Monday was reportedly registered with a subsidiary of the DB group, owned by Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka, whose alleged role in the 2G spectrum is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Former Telecom Minister A Raja, Dravid Munnetra Kazagham MP Kanimozhi and seven others, chargesheeted by the Enforcement Directorate in a 2G scam-related money laundering case, were on Wednesday granted bail by a special Central Bureau of Investigation court.
Money laundering is punishable under the provisions of PMLA.
During the arguments on the bail pleas, ED had argued that the accused had committed the offence of money laundering punishable under provisions of PMLA.
DB Realty Ltd is taking aggressive steps to come out of the shadows of the second generation telecom spectrum scam.
The UAE-based Emirates Telecommunication Corporation (Etisalat) on Thursday filed a petition against Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka, promoters of the beleaguered Swan Telecom, for "fraud and misrepresentation".
Former Telecom Minister A Raja chose not to cross-examine today a key Central Bureau of Inmvestigation witness' testimony in the 2G spectrum case in a Delhi court saying he would wait till another accused to confront the witness.
Mumbai and Pune hotel projects put on hold for now.
The special court hearing the 2G case on Monday reserved the bail order for the 17 accused in the case, including Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam Member of Parliament Kanimozhi, till November 3.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member of Parliament Kanimozhi and three others, arrested for their alleged roles in the 2G spectrum allocation case, moved the Delhi high court for bail on Saturday.
There's an undercurrent of fear in business circles these days
Telecom firms floated by DB Realty and Unitech have been identified by the CBI's prosecutor as having been given preferential treatment in the award of licences by former communications minister A Raja.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's estranged nephew Raj Thackeray rushed to his uncle's defence on Wednesday, lambasting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar for criticising the Sena patriarch.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi was on Thursday questioned by Income Tax authorities for nearly 90 minutes about the Rs 200 crore transaction from Shahid Balwa-owned DB Realty to Kalaignar TV, in which she holds a minority stake. The 43-year-old Member of Parliament appeared after summons were issued by the department, as a Delhi court probing the 2G spectrum allocation exempted her from personal experience.
Rediff.com has in its possession a copy of the CBI chargesheet.
A key 2G case witness and ex-aide of A Raja on Monday told a Delhi court that the former telecom minister was in touch with Swan Telecom promoters, Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka and Unitech MD Sanjay Chandra and had cleared their projects during his stint with ministry of environment and forests in 2004-07.
The Central Bureau of India on Saturday told a special court in New Delhi that Rs 200 crore connected with 2G spectrum allocation scam has travelled from a partnership firm of Shahid Usman Balwa to Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd whose owners include Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's wife Dayaluamma.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday arrested two more persons -- Asif Balwa and Rajeev B Agarwal -- for alleged involvement in money transfer to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's Kalaingar TV channel in connection with the 2G spectrum case in which the agency will file the first chargesheet on April 2.
The CBI on Wednesday called Loop Telecom, CEO Sandeep Basu, Chairman of Shyam group Rajiv Mehrotra, former telecom minister A Raja's brother A K Perumal and close aide Sadiq Batcha, for questioning in relation with the 2G spectrum scam.
The Enforcement Directorate is examining a request from the Central Bureau of Investigation asking it to attach properties of DB Realty worth over Rs 200 crore of DB Group under the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The answer to this million-dollar question may lie behind certain recent developments. Shahid Usman Balwa, Swan Telecom promoter and an accused in the 2G scam case, on May 18
Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, chargesheeted in the 2G spectrum scam, today told a Delhi court that the CBI should have named Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as one of the witnesses in the case.
The managing director of Kalaignar TV Sharad Kumar was on Monday questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation scam. Kumar was called by the investigators in New Delhi at CBI headquarters with regard to some issues related to the Rs 214 crore received by the channel from Cineyug and the role of Shahid Balwa promoted DB Realty in it. Kumar, is a minority stake holder in the channel.
The Central Bureau of Investigation is expected to call Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Member of Parliament and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi for questioning in connection with the 2G spectrum scam.Agency sources said the questioning may take place before the CBI files the charge-sheet in the case on March 31.Kanimozhi holds 20 per cent stake in Kalaignar TV, where a company linked to one of the accused in the scam Shahid Balwa had invested.
A Delhi court on Friday dismissed the bail plea of Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa and former telecom minister A Raja's secretary R K Chandolia in the 2G spectrum allocation scam, saying they are "high ranking public servants" and may tamper with the probe. In not granting the relief, the judge also took into account the "initial stage of the investigation and other facts and circumstances of the case."
DB Realty claims its business is going as usual. It is developing 13 projects, which will add 20 million sq ft in the next four years.
He allegedly advanced the cut-off date to favour accused firms in allocation of 2G licences.
Managing Director Vinod Goenka says the company is not looking at restructuring.
Under the long-term passive infrastructure sharing agreement, Etisalat DB, a joint venture between Etisalat and Dynamix Balwas Group and its subsidiary, would outsource their telecom infrastructure requirements for the 15 telecom circles, the company said in a statement.
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