Etisalat unit under scrutiny

India’s anti-corruption department is set to intensify its investigation into Etisalat’s Indian venture, raising questions over the UAE company’s telecommunications licence less than a year after it paid US$900 million (Dh3.3 billion) for a 45 per cent stake.

The inquiry by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) revolves around Swan Telecom, the company Etisalat bought into in India nine months ago. Swan was then renamed and rebranded to Etisalat DB.

“The CVC’s technical examiner is looking into the files of Swan,” said CVC commissioner Pratyush Sinha. “We found that the allocation of 2G spectrum to private companies, including Swan, on a first-come, first-serve basis was not transparent.”