MUMBAI/NEW DELHI, Feb 11, (RTRS): Indian billionaire Anil Ambani’s Reliance ADA Group on Friday blamed stock brokers for spreading “baseless sensational charges” against the group, as shares of its companies fell sharply for the second day this week.
Unlisted-Reliance ADA said it had identified the brokers who circulated charges through emails, text messages and voice calls and sought regulatory investigation against them. It, however, did not name any of the brokers in the statement and declined to give any details when asked by Reuters.
Telecoms stocks in India have come under pressure over investor concerns over a widening corruption scandal involving the government and the private sector.
There is also concern that the telecoms ministry will force operators, including Vodafone Essar and Bharti Airtel, to pay more money for licences they already bought after the regulator said that they had paid too little for them.

Shares in Reliance Communications, India’s No. 2 mobile phone operator, dropped as much as 7.1 percent to an all-time low on Friday. They extended their losses to 38 percent this year in a Mumbai market down nearly 16 percent.
Reliance Communications posts earnings on Monday. Other group stocks including road-builder Reliance Infrastructure and utility Reliance Power fell as much as 4.6 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively, while the benchmark index was down about 0.5 percent on Friday.
The stocks recouped some of their losses later.
Reliance Communications and Reliance Infrastructure are the two worst performing stocks in the main index this year.
Reliance Communications, which had debt of $6.4 billion at the end of September, has seen its shares battered amid fierce competition and after it failed in efforts last year to sell a 26 percent stake in itself and to merge tower unit with a rival.
In a statement on Friday, Reliance ADA Group said it was seeking “punitive interim orders” against the brokers and that it was bringing the matter to the market regulator and police for seizure of electronic and dealing room records.

A Reliance ADA Group spokesman said the group had nothing more to comment beyond the statement issued on Friday.
A spokesman for the stock market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India, did not respond to a call from Reuters.
Anil Ambani, an avid runner who is married to a former Bollywood actress, was ranked as the world’s 36th richest man by Forbes in 2010. His older brother Mukesh, who controls Reliance Industries, ranks fourth on the global rich list.
A ferocious selldown on Wednesday knocked $2.5 billion from the value of companies controlled by Anil, one of India’s highest-profile businessmen, whose group had then blamed rivals for spreading what it said were “baseless” rumours.
The group has not given further details of its accusations against rivals and brokers.
“The statements from ADA Group are not helping much. There are better opportunities elsewhere,” said Prakash Diwan, head of institutional business at Networth Stock Broking in Mumbai. “Most businesses of ADAG are in competitive industries. Some of their balance sheets are not very promising. In a situation like this and when the market is also weak otherwise, it is difficult for the stocks to recover,” he said.
A spate of corruption scandals has crippled the Indian government, led to arrests of politicians and company executives, and rattled a market worried about where the next shoe may drop.

The Indian government is estimated to have lost as much as $39 billion in revenue over a flawed 2G mobile phone licence process and federal police have targeted two companies in particular, Unitech and Swan Telecom for getting favourable treatment in the licence process.
In November, a government audit report said Swan Telecom, which was later renamed Etisalat DB, was given a licence despite a unit of Reliance Communications holding over 10 percent of equity, which was a violation of rules.
Reliance Communications has said the group did not have any shareholding in Swan when licences were awarded in January 2008.
Late on Tuesday, authorities arrested Shahid Balwa, vice chairman of Etisalat DB, the venture between DB Group and Abu Dhabi’s Etisalat, over the 2G licence scandal.
Shares in one of India’s biggest real estate firms, DB Realty, where Balwa is managing director, fell 8.4 percent on Friday, extending their losses to 17 percent this week.

“When the overall sentiment is vulnerable, the stocks on which there are doubts, are likely to stay under pressure,” said Arun Kejriwal, director of research firm KRIS.
No. 2 listed property developer Unitech dropped as much as 5 percent. The company’s telecoms joint venture partner is Norway’s Telenor.
Etisalat, Unitech and Reliance have denied any wrongdoing.
Aviation minister Vayalar Ravi has put on hold handover of the management of Srinagar’s Centaur hotel to Mumbai-based DB Group, which is under investigation in the 2G scam. The decision to give the hotel’s long-term management to a private firm was taken last September despite opposition from the J&K government and employees of the hotel.
Officials said the new aviation minister has ordered that the controversial deal should be put on hold, hinting at the possibility of the entire contract being reviewed in light of various allegations. The DB Group, whose promoter Shahid Balwa is in CBI custody for his alleged role in the 2G scam, is also under the scanner of intelligence agencies for alleged underworld links.
DB Group now holds a significant stake in Swan Telecom, one of the biggest beneficiaries of the 2G allocation that according to CAG. Swan Telecom offloaded 45 percent stake to UAE-based Etisalat at a massive profit. Investigators have now found trail of Rs 214 crore payment from DB Realty to Kalaignar TV.

DB Realty jumped 10.35 percent to 139.70 on bargain hunting after the stock shed 18.56 percent in preceding five trading sessions to settle at 126.60 on 10 February 2011 from a recent high of Rs 155.45 on Feb 3, 2011. The stock was the biggest gainer in BSE’s ‘A’ group.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) early this week arrested managing director of DB Realty and vice chairman of Etisalat DB Shahid Balwa in connection with a probe into a telecom scam. Etisalat DB is a joint venture between DB Group and Abu Dhabi’s Etisalat. DB Group sold a 45 percent stake in Swan Telecom to Etisalat after the operator was granted a licence. Swan Telecom has since been renamed Etisalat DB. DB Realty has said that Balwa has been wrongly implicated in the case and is not involved in anything “illegal”. The company has said that Balwa will strongly contest the CBI charges.
Coromandel International soared 9.55 percent to 242. The scrip was the second biggest gainer in ‘A’ group.
GVK Power & Infrastructure spurted 9.02 percent to 27.80. The scrip was the third biggest gainer in ‘A’ group.
Nagarjuna Construction Company surged 8.95 percent to Rs 97.95. The stock was the fourth biggest gainer in ‘A’ group.
Jaiprakash Power Ventures moved up 8.94 percent to 39.60. The stock was the fifth biggest gainer in ‘A’ group.