This was expected, and finally, Etisalat has begun the process of winding up the operations of Swan Telecom (Etisalat DB Telecom Pvt Ltd), citing a "complete breakdown in the relationship between Etisalat and its Indian partners, Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka, who face various criminal charges of corruption associated with Swan’s acquisition of its UAS licences." The Economic Times reported recently that the company has asked its subscribers to port out to other telecom operators. The company has claimed that it was "completely unaware of any issues or risks associated with the licences which were already owned by Swan when it made its investment", and has now sued Shahid Balwa, Vinod Goenka and Majestic Infracon Pvt Ltd (formerly Tiger Trustees Pvt Ltd) for fraud and misrepresentation associated with soliciting Etisalat’s investment in Swan. Etisalat DB becomes the second venture, after S-Tel, to ask customers to port out, and shutter operations, following the cancellation of 122 2G licenses by India's Supreme Court. Note that there is no clear indication yet about whether Etisalat will choose to participate in the auctions, if, indeed, there are auctions this year. The complete statement from Etisalat: Etisalat issues proceedings for winding up Etisalat DB Telecom Pvt Ltd (EDB) Etisalat has issued proceedings for the winding up of Etisalat DB Telecom Pvt Ltd (EDB) (formerly Swan Telecom) so that there can be a proper and orderly end to the business of EDB that is supervised by the Indian Courts. Recent events have led to a complete…
