From Dow Jones Newswires

Wednesday 16 March 2011

http://www.totaltele.com/view.aspx?ID=463306

Money laundering investigators request cooperation from peers in Singapore, Cyprus, Jersey, Virgin Islands.

India's Enforcement Directorate, which probes violations of foreign exchange laws and money laundering, has traced foreign monetary transactions to at least six countries as part of its probe into alleged malpractices in the allotment of telecommunications license and bandwidth, the Press Trust of India reported.

The directorate, which falls under the federal finance ministry, has summoned executives from 31 companies and recorded statements of 26 companies, the report late Tuesday said, citing a submission made by the agency's lawyer to the Supreme Court.

The agency has also requested its peers in the six countries, including Singapore, Cyprus, Jersey and Virgin Islands, to assist in investigating the money trail in the case, the report said.

The directorate, along with the Central Bureau of Investigation, is probing the irregularities under the overall supervision of the Supreme Court. The CBI has alleged that telecom licenses and bandwidth in 2008 were allotted at 2001 rates, which cost the government about $4.88 billion in potential revenue. A federal audit body had pegged the potential loss at up to $39 billion.