By IANS,
New Delhi : A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here Friday formally slapped the charges of conspiracy and cheating against the promoters of the Essar Group and the Loop Telecom in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
Special CBI Judge O.P. Saini framed the charges of criminal conspiracy against five corporate honchos of Essar Group and Loop Telecom and granted bail to them. The same charges were also framed against three firms — Loop Telecom Ltd, Loop Mobile India Ltd, and Essar Teleholding Ltd.
“You all committed an offence punishable under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),” said the judge.
The court framed charges of cheating and criminal conspiracy against Essar Group director (Strategy and Planning) Vikas Saraf.
The other corporate honchos charged in this case are Essar Group promoters Ravi Ruia and Anshuman Ruia, and Loop Telecom promoter I.P. Khaitan.
A third set of charges filed by the CBI in the 2G case alleged that the promoters of the Essar Group were the real investors and beneficiaries of the spectrum and licenses issued to Loop Telecom, which was used as a front company by the Essar Group to acquire the 2G licenses and spectrum in 2008.
This has been vehemently denied by the Essar Group.