Below is the rough translation of my interview appeared in Swedish-Norwegian newspaper - Dagens Nyheter (DN). The interview was published on March 23, 2012. I was in Norway to present a paper on "India's Telecom Scandal' at annual media conference called SKUP. The interview was bascially focused on the role of Telenor, the Government controlled telecom company in 2G Scam :
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Telenor knew all
MARTE RAMUZ ERIKSEN
TONSBERG
The
Indian journalist J. Gopikrishnan (41) revealed
the corruption scandal that could cost Telenor 17
billion kroner. He refuses to accept that Telenor did not know
the about the corruption allegations surrounding on its Indian partner. Telenor says it is innocent. I won’t agree,
said the Indian journalist J. Gopikrishnan.
He
was the first journalist who questioned how a number of companies without the
knowledge of the telecom industry were awarded cellular licenses in India in
2008. Gopikrishnan has since been credited with having discovered what is known
as India's biggest corruption scandal. Time magazine has named the issue as one
of the worst examples of abuse of power ever.
Among
the companies that were awarded mobile phone licenses was the real estate
company Unitech. Norwegian Telenor entered into partnership with Unitech in
2009. Today, their jointly owned Uninor 41 million customers, but the company
is now without a mobile license after a recent highest Indian court’s order.
In
December 2008, J. Gopikrishnan and medium-sized newspaper
The Pioneer revealed close ties between the former telecommunications minister Andimuthu Raja and
several real estate companies that
were awarded mobile licenses.
The way the awards were handed out on, after a first come first served principle, is later cancelled by the Indian Supreme Court, and both the now former telecommunications minister and Telenor partner Sanjay Chandra is accused of corruption.
Telenor, the company came after the licenses were awarded. The company therefore believes it is an innocent casualty in the case, and that it had no reason to doubt the way the licenses were awarded.
The way the awards were handed out on, after a first come first served principle, is later cancelled by the Indian Supreme Court, and both the now former telecommunications minister and Telenor partner Sanjay Chandra is accused of corruption.
Telenor, the company came after the licenses were awarded. The company therefore believes it is an innocent casualty in the case, and that it had no reason to doubt the way the licenses were awarded.
Telenor’s
claim that they did not know anything can’t be believable, says J. Gopikrishnan.
I do not think you Norwegians are stupid. First, Telenor
was very much aware of the value inherent in the
Indian telecom market, and must have understood that the
licenses were awarded for cheap, he says. Obviously there
was huge corruption and known to all.
Second, Telenor is
familiar with the political divisions in India
and Asia. The company knows well that it is not
possible to enter India when they have an already established telecom operation
in Pakistan, says Gopikrishnan, referring to
the inflamed relations between Pakistan and India.
He
believes that Telenor must have relied
on political connections of its Indian partner and to was
allowed to invest in India by paying a premium amount. He believes,
however, Telenor can work in the Indian market in the long run if
they win auction.
Robbery in broad daylight
Robbery in broad daylight
Telenor
was proud on the wrong partner knowing all. Now, the
best thing it can do now is to pay the market price when
the licenses will be auctioned again. J. Gopikrishnan believes this
corruption case in India is robbery in broad
daylight. He tells about the deadlines that were
changed in the last minute and that the telephone
companies were able to raise money in such a short time are
ample examples of manipulation. Now he believes the Indian Government's
only option is to sell the cancelled licenses again
in an auction to the highest possible price. Gopikrishnan guess Telenor must
have to pay between three and four billion kroner to restore the licenses Uninor lost, corresponding to
17-23 million kroner.
This weekend Gopikrishnan is attending journalists'
conference of SKUP in Tonsberg town.
For
me, this is not a scoop. For me it was luck in the career. I
met a whistleblower and he guided me. I only made the
job a journalist should do, he says when asked about his
comments on the journalistic work.
