Sadiq Batcha had links with hawala operators in Dubai

CHENNAI: Real estate businessman Sadiq Batcha had close ties with a number of people in Dubai, including hawala operators, say sources in central intelligence agencies. A team of CBI officers probing the money trail in the 2G spectrum scam was to visit Dubai to collect evidence on hawala transactions and other investments allegedly carried out by Batcha.

The CBI had under its scanner a businessman from Kilakari in Ramanathapuram district based in Dubai who is known for his proximity to the rich and famous. Earlier, the CBI had interrogated Mahesh Jain and his brother Bobby, two hawala operators with Dubai connections, after DB Realty’s Shahid Balwa reportedly named them during his questioning.

Batcha used Balwa, another accused in the 2G scam and a frequent visitor to Dubai, for his investments through the hawala route, sources told TOI. Officials said he was familiar with hawala operations in the Gulf and South-East Asia and had extensive contacts.

"The CBI knows the names of hawala operators who channeled funds into UAE but Batcha’s death can affect the probe to a certain extent as he was privy to a lot of information not known to others," a top diplomat in the Indian mission in Dubai said. Indian ambassador to the UAE M K Lokesh told TOI that he had only read about it from the media and declined to comment on the issue.

The CBI was focusing on tracking the money trail that allegedly led from Swan Telecom to close relatives and acquaintances of Raja and then to Dubai. Interrogation of Balwa had also thrown up the names of a few Indian businessmen based in the UAE, sources said. "Three Dubaibased hawala operators have been under the scanner both of the ED and CBI after interrogation of some persons arrested by the agency in the scam," said an official in the Indian consulate. Diplomats said there was also a move to float a radio station in the UAE by a south-based TV channel and a business group in Dubai.