MCA sumbits reports to DoT on Swan Telecom: Khurshid -Governance Now

MCA sumbits reports to DoT on Swan Telecom: Khurshid

DoT to decide if company was inconsistent with license conditions

PTI | December 29, 2010

The Corporate Affairs Ministry today said that it has submitted its report on Swan Telecom's alleged connection with Reliance Communication to the Telecom Department.

"Registrar of Companies (RoC) has got back to us and that information has also been shared with DoT," Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told reporters when asked whether the MCA has completed the enquiry into the shareholding pattern of Swan Telecom, a company alleged to be the front company of Reliance Communication.

"We were not looking for irregularities, we were looking for factual position whether that?s consistent or inconsistent with licensing conditions is for DoT to decide," he said.

Last month, Telecom Minister Kabil Sibal said DoT would ask MCA to investigate the CAG allegation that Swan Telecom, which got licences and spectrum in 2008, acted as a front company of RCom.

According to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), Swan Telecom appeared to be acting as a front company for Reliance Telecom, a 100 per cent subsidiary of RCom.

As per the existing rules, no telecom operator is allowed to hold more than 10 per cent stake in another service provider in the same circle, either directly or indirectly.

However, in all 13 circles where Swan bagged licences, Reliance was already present. The CAG has calculated that inclusive of preferential shares equivalent to a 0.9 per cent stake, RCom had a 10.71 per cent participating interest in Swan.

RCom, on the other hand, has maintained that while it held a 9.9 per cent equity stake in Swan through Reliance Telecom till December 5, 2007, it had offloaded the shares prior to the award of a telecom licence to Swan on January 10, 2008.

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