On BSE, Unitech tumbled 5.93% to Rs 38.05, DB Realty slumped 3.92% to Rs 99.15 and Reliance Communications fell 3% to 102.10.

Presenting the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) status report before the Supreme Court on Wednesday (27 April 2011), Senior counsel K K Venugopal said the agency had issued showcause notices under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to several telecom companies under the money laundering probe. These include Swan Telecom, Unitech Wireless and Reliance Telecom, which were charged with forgery and corruption in the first Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) chargesheet filed on 2 April 2011. These firms were accused of getting mobile services licences cheap by conspiring with former telecom minister A Raja.

Venugopal, appearing for the ED, told the Supreme Court that the proceedings for attachment would begin in two months and to begin with, assets worth Rs 4000 crore belonging to 'two companies' would be attached. Venugopal said the ED had gone into the appreciation of the net worth of the 'two companies' after the scam and assets worth about Rs 2,000 crore each would be attached.

Venugopal, however, did not name the two companies in the open court. But, reports suggested that he could be referring to Unitech and Swan, which have been accused of getting mobile services licences cheap by conspiring with former telecom minister A Raja.

The term "attachment" refers to the process of identifying properties that ED - which investigates money laundering and probes violation of rules governing foreign exchange - thinks is part of the proceeds of crime so that they cannot be sold. Reports suggest that the assets, however, can be confiscated only after the conviction of the companies in the case.

A spokesperson for Unitech told the media that these developments will not affect Unitech's real estate business. The on-going matter pertains to Unitech Wireless, which is a separate venture in the telecom business.

Swan Telecom is now called Etisalat DB Telecom, in which the U.A.E.'s Emirates Telecommunications Corp. bought a stake in 2008. DB Realty, a real estate firm, is Etisalat's partner in Etisalat DB. Reliance Telecom is a unit of Reliance Communications.