MHA expressed concern on Shahid Balwa’s link with Dawood: Swamy

Balwa's Swan Telecom later offloaded 45% of its shares to Etisalat for a huge amount.

Swan Telecom was granted licence for the 2G spectrum despite the Home Ministry expressing reservation over it on the ground that its promoter Shahid Usman Balwa has links allegedly with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim,a Delhi Court was today told by Janata Party Chief Subramanian Swamy. Shahid Usman Balwa is the founder of DB Realty.

He said Dubai-based Etisalat,which was also under the scanner of the ministry was allowed to invest in Swan Telecom.

“Ministry of Home Affairs had said Shahid Usman Balwa should not be allowed to head any telecom company because of his links with underworld-don Dawood Ibrahim,” Swamy said.

Story continues below this ad

Swamy said following the 2G scam,Etisalat was stopped from buying stakes in a Chennai-based company due to objection by the Home Ministry.

As per the CBI’s charge sheet,Balwa-promoted Swan Telecom was allotted 2G licence for 13 circles for Rs 1,537 crore and it offloaded 45 per cent of its shares before the roll-out to UAE-based Etisalat for Rs 4,200 crore.

Besides Swan Telecom,Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Pvt Ltd offloaded 60 per cent of its shares to Norway-based Telenor for Rs 6,200 crore,CBI had said.

us india trade talks, us india trade negotiations, us india tariffs, us india trade relations, trump modi trade talks, india us commerce ministry, us tariffs on india, india exporters relief package, us india economic relations, india us trade barriers, us india trade deal, india us trade meeting, rajesh agarwal commerce ministry, india us trade dispute, india us bilateral trade

Trade talks ‘positive’, govt says will intensify efforts to close US deal early

Business28 min ago

India and the US have resumed trade negotiations after the US imposed tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. The sixth round of talks will focus on recognising India's red lines and possibly increasing energy purchases from the US. Other topics include easing patent rules, data flows, and giving US firms procurement access.

View all shorts

Live Blog