Etisalat terms DB Group filing as 'baseless'

DUBAI: UAE telecom giant Etisalat has hit back at DB Group for filing legal proceedings over alleged mismanagement of their Indian joint venture, Etilsalat DB, this week, terming it "baseless".

The DB group had moved the Mumbai bench of the Company Law Board against Etisalat, accusing it of operational mismanagement and delays in rolling out services.

The complaint was filed by DB group promoter firm Majestic Infracon.

In a statement released here, the telecom operator said this is a cynical tactical move by parties charged with major corruption offences to shift attention away from their own situation and to disrupt the proper running of Etisalat DB to the detriment of its shareholders and customers.

"(Shahid) Balwa was the managing director of Etisalat DB until his recent resignation and Majestic has a larger shareholding than Etisalat.

"The management of Etisalat DB has been made dramatically more difficult by Balwa and Goenka being in prison and by the approach taken by them to its business, not least in relation to the 2G licence allegations when the company's defence appears to have been conducted to benefit their personal position," the company said in the statement.

The company said it is "investigating closely both the circumstances in which Balwa persuaded it to invest in Swan (now Etisalat DB) as a third party foreign investor -- brought in after Balwa and Swan had obtained the licences -- and also Mr Balwa's stewardship of the company and its assets."

Etisalat owns some 44.73 per cent of Etisalat DB, while Majestic, a company controlled by Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka, owns 45.73 per cent of Etisalat DB.