Etisalat's Indian joint venture said it has responded to a request by India's government to show why it should keep its licence, and expects no further action taken against it, Reuters reports. Etisalat DB, a joint venture of India's DB Group and Etisalat, has been caught up in the corruption probe into whether mobile licences and radio spectrum were sold at below-market prices in return for kickbacks. Last November, India's telecommunications ministry sent notices to five firms that were given 85 telecommunication licences in 2008, asking why their licences should not be cancelled after a government auditor found they were not eligible for them. Etisalat DB has provided a complete response to their concerns and expects the Department of Telecommunications to withdraw the notices and refrain from taking any further action against Etisalat DB, the company said in a statement. Last week, the vice-chairman of Etisalat DB was arrested over allegations that two Indian firms got favourable treatment when 2G spectrum licences were awarded. Etisalat, which owns an approximately 45 percent stake in the venture, has maintained that it bought the stake in the firm, then called Swan, after the licence had been applied for and granted.
