The Vodafone-Hutchison transaction has brought Max India chairman Analjit Singh’s and HEL managing director Asim Ghosh’s combined 15 per cent stake under the government’s scanner.

The Vodafone-Hutchison transaction has brought Max India chairman Analjit Singh’s and HEL managing director Asim Ghosh’s combined 15 per cent stake under the government’s scanner. Singh and Ghosh’s holding in HEL was funded by HTIL, which provided bank guarantees of $110.4 million and $200 million to Ghosh and Singh respectively. In exchange, HTIL secured a call-and-put option to buy out the holding of Ghosh and Singh in HEL at any time in the next 10 years beginning March 1, 2006. The finance ministry has asked the RBI to comment on alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act in the transaction. In response, Ghosh and Singh have written to the government asserting that they have 100 per cent ownership rights and unrestricted voting and dividend rights over their shares in HEL.