Balwa brother, associate held over 2G trail

NEW DELHI: The DB Group was on Tuesday pulled deeper into the ambit of CBI's investigations into the 2G scam with the agency arresting Asif Balwa and Rajiv Aggarwal — two key functionaries of the firm — and taking its investigations precariously close to DMK's reigning clan.

The arrested duo are important DB Realty figures of the group that controlled Swan Telecom. Asif Balwa is chief financial officer of DB Realty and brother of Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa who is already under arrest.

Aggarwal is chief operating officer of DB Realty and a confidant of Vinod Goenka, the other Swan promoter. Both Asif and Aggarwal are also directors of Kusegaon Realty, which transferred over Rs 210 crore to Kalaignar TV through a convoluted route. CBI believes the money was kickback in the 2G scam as the channel is close to DMK's first family.

The arrest implies the agency is not buying into the claims of the Balwas and Kalaignar TV promoters — DMK MP Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar — that the money was an investment with nothing to do with 2G. Kanimozhi is the daughter of DMK patriarch and Tamil Nadu CM M Karunanidhi.

CBI believes Kusegaon Realty was used to park money gathered in the 2G scam and was further routed to Kanimozhi's channel. According to CBI sources, they have evidence against claims of Balwas, Kanimozhi and others that the transfer of money did not represent any 2G related transaction and was clean business. Swan and the Balwa family are important focus of CBI's ongoing 2G probe.