The first FIR was registered against former Union telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran and his brother Kalanidhi Maran. It is alleged that the Maran brothers received Rs 550 crore as illegal gratification, punishable under sections of the PMLA and FEMA. Under the provisions of the PMLA, the ED can even attach the properties of Sun TV and the Marans.
The second case pertained to the NDA regime when BJP’s Pramod Mahajan was the telecom minister. The ED has named former telecom secretary Shyamal Ghosh, then deputy director general J R Gupta, Airtel and Vodafone for alleged irregularities in the grant of additional 2G spectrum during 2001-03.
Dayanidhi Maran, who resigned as the Union textile minister after his name cropped up in the 2G scam, is being investigated by the CBI-ED for favouring Malaysian firm Maxis Communication. The ED will now start recording statements under the PMLA before questioning Dayanidhi.
The allegations against Maran brothers were that they allegedly delayed and halted the process of granting a licence to Aircel in 2004-05.
The process of granting licence to Sivashankaran-owned Aircel was reportedly kept pending till an agreement was signed between T Ananda Krishnan-owned Maxis Communication and promoters of Aircel for ownership change in respect to these companies.
An illegal gratification of Rs 550 crore was reportedly accepted through Dayanidhi’s brother Kalanidhi in the garb of share premium invested in M/S Sun Direct TV by South Asia Entertainment holdings Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Astro All Asia Networks Plc.
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