No word on etisalat India unit fine

The UAE’s telecommunication firm Etisalat has not yet received any official notification from India on a planned Dh6.24 billion ($1.7 billion) fine against its unit in the subcontinent for alleged foreign exchange violations related to the sale of wireless permits, the semi official daily Alittihad said on Monday.

“Neither Etisalat nor its unit in India have received any official notification from Indian authorities regarding this fine…so we can not make any comment at present,” the paper said, quoting Etisalat spokesman Ahmed bin Ali.

India's Enforcement Directorate, which has authority over foreign exchange fraud and money laundering, imposed the 70 billion rupee fine on Etisalat DB Telecom India for various charges that it says violate the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999, the Press Trust of India reported this week.

The penalty had been ordered for "suspected contravention" of foreign exchange rules inside and outside India by the company.

Etisalat DB has been given 30 days to explain why the fine should not be levied on it, the agency said.

Etisalat acquired its stake in Swan Telecom, its Indian unit's former name, for $900 million in March 2009 in a deal that included management control.

The remaining 55 per cent is held by the Indian companies Dynamix Balwas Group and Genex Exim. The move by India's Enforcement Directorate is the latest blow to the company's Indian operations.

In December, it paid a $2.2m penalty to the Indian government for failing to launch second-generation mobile services on time.

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