Thursday, August 08, 2013

Swamy to move apex court if SEBI clears Etihad deal

Mumbai: Troubles for the Jet-Etihad deal are far from over, with Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy planning to approach the Supreme Court in case the market regulator approves the stake sale.
“If SEBI also gives a clearance to this deal, then I would be very surprised. If it gives a clearance then it (SEBI) would become respondents in this case. It would become culpable under the Prevention of Corruption Act,” Subramanian Swamy told Business Line in an interview.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) had approved Abu Dhabi-based Etihad’s proposal to acquire a 24 per cent stake in Naresh Goyal-led Jet Airways, with certain riders. To sail through, the Rs 2,058-crore deal requires approvals from SEBI, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and fair-trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI).
Finance Minister P. Chidambram is yet to sign the minutes of the FIPB meeting. The day the FIPB gives final clearance, a PIL would be filed in the Supreme Court, he added. Swamy has also alleged that the deal is not in public interest as people with links to terrorist organisations have invested in Jet.
08/08/13 Rahul Wadke/Rajesh Kurup/Business Line
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