Antrix-Devas deal: Madhavan Nair met mastermind twice, says CBI

CBI says Devas Multimedia is a shell company that got $130 milion from four firms.

Former ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair. File

Former ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair, had met alleged U.S.-based mastermind in the Antrix-Devas deal Ramachandra Vishwanathan twice before the agreement got the final government approval, the CBI said.

The CBI already has sanction for the prosecution of Mr. Nair, apart from former ISRO director A. Bhaskar Narayana Rao and former Antrix executive director K.R. Sridhara Murthi.

The agency alleges that the former ISRO chief met Mr. Vishwanathan, the Devas CEO, in Bengaluru and at Vancouver in Canada in 2004. Incidentally, the Bengaluru-based Devas Multimedia was incorporated in December 2004 with a capital of just ₹1 lakh.

Devas Multimedia is being treated by the CBI as a shell company. It had received investments to the tune of $130 million from four companies, three based in Mauritius and one in Singapore. The agency has identified the investors as Columbia Capital Devas Mauritius Limited, Telecom Devas Mauritius Limited, Devas Employees Mauritius Private Limited and Deutsche Telekom Asia Ltd, Singapore.

The Antrix-Devas Multimedia agreement

Seeking information on the relevant financial transactions, the CBI has sent judicial requests to Mauritius, Singapore, France and the U.S. It is alleged that Mr. Vishwanathan had diverted $28 million from Devas Multimedia to its fully owned U.S.-based subsidiary on various pretexts.

Last year, the agency filed a charge sheet alleging that Devas Multimedia wrongfully gained ₹578 crore from the deal. Among those named are Mr. Vishwanathan, Mr. Nair, Mr. Rao, Mr. Murthi, former ISRO scientist M.G. Chandrasekhar, and two directors of Devas Multimedia, M. Umesh and D. Venugopal.

Inadequate competence

It alleged that though the company did not have the necessary technology and wherewithal for providing services like delivery of videos, multimedia content and information services using S-Band transponders through GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A satellites and terrestrial systems in India, it managed to bag the deal.

The agency has also accused the then ISRO chief of suppressing crucial information about the deal from the space commission, which gave the final nod.