44-660: Niira Radia ( née Nira Menon ; born on 19 November 1960) is a former corporate lobbyist whose taped telephone conversations implicated her influence in the allocation of key ministries in the Government of India in 2009. Discussion of the tapes resulted in the " Radia tapes controversy ", which was a media event that led to the uncovering of the alleged 2G spectrum scam involving former telecommunications minister A Raja . These events led to Raja's resignation and later acquittal by Special CBI court, and Radia's departure from corporate lobbying. Niira Radia ( née Nira Menon)
88-577: A man's surname at birth that has subsequently been replaced or changed. The diacritic mark (the acute accent ) over the e is considered significant to its spelling, and ultimately its meaning, but is sometimes omitted. According to Oxford University 's Dictionary of Modern English Usage , the terms are typically placed after the current surname (e.g., " Margaret Thatcher , née Roberts" or " Bill Clinton , né Blythe"). Since they are terms adopted into English (from French), they do not have to be italicized , but they often are. In Polish tradition ,
132-523: A tax haven . In April 1999 Radia persuaded Ananth Kumar as Minister of Civil Aviation to change its policy of aircraft acquisition from Boeing to Airbus for Air India 's new fleet requirements. The ministry began a formal process of aircraft evaluation for the purchase of 39 aircraft at a cost of ₹90 billion (₹90 billion) but the evaluation of offers was stopped in August 1999 due to upcoming Lok Sabha elections. When rumours began to circulate in
176-416: A 3 billion case of cheating Yes Bank for a ₹3 billion loan. Birth name#Maiden and married names A birth name is the name given to a person upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname , the given name , or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth register may by that fact alone become
220-579: A French-Italian aircraft manufacturer. Since Naresh Goyal , the CEO of Jet Airways, refused to deal with Radia, she went to ATR who agreed to pay her ₹18.5 million (₹18.5 million) to get the approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation. To receive their commission Radia, Singh and Karuna Menon traveled to Zurich to open Swiss bank accounts . They also opened accounts in the Channel Islands ,
264-524: A brief period of four months each in 2009. In 2007, Radia incorporated Noesis Strategic Consulting Services Pvt. Ltd. with former Finance Secretary CM Vasudev and former chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Pradip Baijal , as its founding members. In 2008 former TRAI member DPS Seth worked with Noesis as an advisor. Noesis' clients included Tata Teleservices , Tata Communications , Vedanta Resources , and
308-432: A case with Delhi High Court . Anand and his team of lawyers were able to persuade the court to pass an order to release the aircraft on the condition that AirUK would first deposit ₹80 million (₹80 million) with the government and furnish a bank guarantee of ₹45 million (₹45 million). Radia's lawyers informed her that the court order could be stayed by the next morning. Radia ensured that ₹80 million
352-536: A corporate lobbyist. Radia demanded ₹10 million (₹10 million) as damages, alleging that Anand had revealed "privileged communications" between a lawyer and a client. Delhi High Court stayed the release and circulation of the book, originally slated for a launch in June 2011. Over a six-month period in 2009 India's Income Tax department taped Radia's phone conversations at the time of cabinet formation after general elections. A news magazine published transcripts of
396-450: A media channel in which he portrayed the kidnapping charge against him as the outcome of a business rivalry between him and Radia. Radia's son filed contempt of court charges against Singh as the case against him was still pending. In May 2011 Radia filed a defamation suit against lawyer RK Anand for his book titled Close Encounters of Niira Radia and described as an unauthorized "tell all" biography about Niira Radia and her activities as
440-676: A non-governmental organization (NGO) with her sister, Karuna Menon and herself as company directors and built a hospital in Mathura of the same name. On 28 February 2016 Ratan Tata inaugurated Nayati Healthcare's first hospital in Mathura , a district in Uttar Pradesh . The hospital further expanded its territory to New Delhi and Gurugram in 2018, by acquiring local hospitals – Sunder lal Jain hospital and Vimhans PrimaMed. On 28 April 2003 Rao Dheeraj Singh, Radia's former business partner,
484-655: A party in London who mentioned that the airlines was looking to lease Boeing 737-400 aircraft to expand the business. Menon, who was involved in Radia's aircraft lease business, sent Radia to New Delhi, India to meet Sahara Airlines CEO, Uttam Kumar Bose. Radia helped Sahara negotiate with International Lease Finance Corporation , a Los Angeles based company, for the lease of two Boeing 737-400 aircraft and spare parts. In 1995 Radia rented an office in Vasant Vihar, Delhi . She
SECTION 10
#1732798483162528-444: A successful negotiation, Sahara Airlines placed a $ 25 million order for four helicopters – three AS-355Ns and one AS-365N Dauphin . The deal netted Radia and Singh a huge commission that they routed through Sofema , a company created the same year for guiding the foreign sales of large French aeronautic and defence groups. To bring the money into India, Radia and Singh made several trips to London and Dubai together. Following
572-466: A traffic supervisor with Sahara Airlines , and grandson of former Haryana Chief Minister Rao Birender Singh . In March 1996 Radia persuaded Singh to quit Sahara Airlines and join her as a business partner in Mumbai . At the behest of part-owner Chandu Panjabi, Radia was to work on getting foreign hotel management companies interested in the restoration of Hotel Sea Rock, Bandra that had been damaged in
616-416: Is the feminine past participle of naître , which means "to be born". Né is the masculine form. The term née , having feminine grammatical gender , can be used to denote a woman's surname at birth that has been replaced or changed. In most English-speaking cultures, it is specifically applied to a woman's maiden name after her surname has changed due to marriage. The term né can be used to denote
660-472: The 1993 Bombay bombings . While in Mumbai, Radia also arranged funding for Agni Sakshi (1996), a Hindi film produced by Chandu Panjabi's friend, Binda Thackeray, Bal Thackeray 's son. In early 1997, Radia and Singh moved back to New Delhi. Acting as aviation consultants, they traveled to Bahrain with Sahara Airlines CEO, Uttam Kumar Bose, to negotiate the purchase of helicopters from Eurocopter . After
704-962: The 1998 Indian general election , the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition known as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) formed a government under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for a year. On 19 March 1998 Ananth Kumar , representing the Bangalore South Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka , became the Minister of Civil Aviation . Radia became emotionally close to Anantha Kumar. Kumar introduced Radia to Swami Vishwesha Teertha , who became her spiritual guru. In July 1998 Radia incorporated Crownmart International (India) and became its CEO. KLM uk hired Crownmart to handle
748-636: The AML and Eland series of light armoured cars . Depending on the needs of its customers, Sofema acquires first generation equipment, mainly of French origin, and overhauls this to a pristine state in its workshops, or through its specialised partners. Contracts include significant support to implementation and training to buyer-countries, equal to the services provided by major industry in exports of new equipment. Complementary to its renovation activities, Sofema offers spare parts . Sofema's International Advisory department aims to assist industry groups around
792-604: The French Armed Forces . The company is headquartered in Levallois , near Paris. Technical facilities are situated in La Teste ( Gironde —in the south west of France) and Châteauroux ( Indre ). Sofema was used by Indian lobbyist Niira Radia and Singh for routing their money which they earned as commission in the deal with Sahara Airlines to negotiate the purchase of helicopters from Eurocopter . Sofema
836-710: The GMR Group . From 2005 to 2009 Radia head-hunted a number of senior Indian bureaucrats. In 2005 she hired Satish Kumar Narula, former chairman, Airports Authority of India (AAI), who had retired in January 2004. He joined Vaishnavi Communications as a company director. Former secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ajay Dua, former secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation Akbar Jung, and former Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, V. Subramanian, also joined Vaishnavi Communications for
880-530: The Indian National Congress ultimately bought an AS365 N3 Dauphin helicopter from Eurocopter in April 2001 at the cost of ₹230 million (₹230 million). The Karnataka government did not buy a helicopter after initially expressing interest. In 1999 Radia persuaded Ananth Kumar as Minister of Civil Aviation to block the approval for Jet Airways to acquire five new aircraft from ATR ,
924-581: The Radia tapes controversy , Radia announced her exit from corporate lobbying and closed down Vaishnavi Communications. In 2012, she started a consulting firm called Pegasus International Advisory. In February 2012, the SC cancelled 122 2G licences. In 2010 India Today magazine sardonically named Niira Radia as the newsmaker of the year. In 2002 Radia established a charitable trust called Sudesh Foundation in her late mother Sudesh Sharma's memory. The foundation funded
SECTION 20
#1732798483162968-537: The Companies Act, 1956 and recommended action against 11 top executives of the firm. Mossack Fonseca had set up firm linked to Niira Radia. An investigation of these papers shows the existence of one offshore entity owned by Radia, an International Business Company (IBC) registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) by Mossack Fonseka in 1994 named Crownmart International Group Limited. It
1012-521: The Indian media that India's aviation policy was being influenced by the minister's relationship with Radia, Ananth Kumar was removed from his position as Minister of Civil Aviation. In 2000 Singapore Airlines was keen to re-negotiate a more liberal air bilateral pact with the Indian civil aviation ministry to obtain a staggered increase in its flight frequencies over a multi-year period. Singapore Airlines approached Radia who got it done. Singapore Airlines
1056-611: The Radias divorced and Niira moved to India as a Person of Indian Origin . On the advice of a numerologist, she added an extra letter to her name to make it "Niira". Between 1988 and 1993 Niira Radia incorporated a string of travel and aviation related companies in London, in which she and her family members were shareholders and held positions such as company secretary and director . By 1995 these companies had been liquidated , many of them after filing bankruptcy. In 1994 Radia's father, Iqbal Menon, met an advisor to Sahara Airlines at
1100-606: The construction of a Pejavara Adokshaja muth Sri Krishna temple at Vasant Kunj , an expensive area of Delhi, for which land was allocated by the government at very low prices. At a function in 2002 Pejavara Swami Vishwesha Teertha was present, along with senior BJP leader L. K. Advani who lay the foundation stone for the temple. The foundation had helped scholars publish books and devotional singers get their music CDs released. Nayati Healthcare started out with its mobile van services in 2012 and on 20 February 2013 Niira Radia incorporated Nayati Healthcare & Research Pvt. Ltd. as
1144-483: The defunct ModiLuft and renaming it Magic Air. Uttam Kumar Bose once again quit Sahara Airlines to help launch Magic Air. Radia failed to get permission because of her foreign citizenship and rules forbidding foreign investment in Indian domestic aviation. Also see Radia tapes controversy In 2000 Ratan Tata, fresh from the failure to obtain a stake in Air India along with Singapore Airlines, decided to consolidate
1188-499: The government of Oman . In 2008 Mukesh Ambani also decided to outsource all of Reliance Industries public relations and lobbying work to Radia, who set up Neucom Consulting just for this purpose. In 2009, the tapes formed the foundation of the 2G spectrum case in which the government was accused of selling scarce radio spectrum at throwaway prices to ineligible companies. The national auditor pegged potential revenue loss at ₹1760 billion (₹1,760 billion). In 2011, following
1232-499: The leadership of its new chairman and CEO, Guillaume Giscard d'Estaing , Sofema underwent a profound shift in its business. In effect, the company passed in just a few years from playing a role as intermediary in large French export contracts, to selling renovated land, air and sea equipment. Products include the VBC-90 internal security vehicle, Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé APC, and Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopter, in addition to
1276-530: The legal formalities involved in the return of two aircraft leased to ModiLuft by AirUK in 1996. The aircraft had been impounded by the Central Board of Excise and Customs for non-payment of ₹85 million (₹85 million) as Inland Air Travel Tax collected by ModiLuft from passengers but not remitted to the Government of India. Radia and Singh worked with prominent lawyer RK Anand who filed
1320-425: The merger of Snecma and SAGEM ), DCNS , Thales , NEXTER SYSTEMS (formerly GIAT), Dassault Aviation (represent by Eric Trappier ), Renault Trucks (Volvo Group). Appointed CEO and chairman in 2001, General (CR) Bernard Norlain embarked on a policy of diversification in response to a gradual erosion of its core business – due, particularly, to the establishment of sales teams within its holding. In 2007, under
1364-560: The person's legal name . The assumption in the Western world is often that the name from birth (or perhaps from baptism or brit milah ) will persist to adulthood in the normal course of affairs—either throughout life or until marriage. Some reasons for changes of a person's name include middle names , diminutive forms, changes relating to parental status (due to one's parents' divorce or adoption by different parents), and gender transition . The French and English-adopted née
Niira Radia - Misplaced Pages Continue
1408-771: The promoters; obtained approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) and the Home ministry to raise equity abroad; and started negotiations with International Lease Finance Corporation to obtain aircraft. However, her application was declined again for lack of transparency in funding. In August 2000 Uttam Kumar Bose was sacked as CEO of Sahara Airlines after aircraft lease rentals negotiated by him were found to be as much as 50 percent higher than market rates. He joined Crown Air as CEO but went back to Sahara after nine months. In 2004 Radia tried once again to start her own airline by taking over
1452-654: The public relations and advocacy functions for the Tata Group as a whole. Impressed by her smooth handling of the Singapore Airlines bilateral pact with India, Tata offered all 90 Tata Group accounts to Radia, who set up Vaishnavi Corporate Communications Pvt Ltd (VCCPL) in 2001 for public relations work. Apart from the Tata Group Radia also handled clients such as Unitech Group , Confederation of Indian Industry , Hindustan Construction Company and
1496-612: The taped conversations that implicated Radia's influence in how key ministerial portfolios were allocated. These phone recordings led to the 2G spectrum case involving former telecommunications minister A Raja , which subsequently led to his resignation from his post. A report filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in April 2013 based on its investigation into the tapes pointed out technical violations by Radia's public relations and lobbying firm Vaishnavi Corporate Communications Limited under
1540-467: The term z domu (literally meaning "of the house", de domo in Latin ) may be used, with rare exceptions, meaning the same as née . Sofema Sofema ( Société française d’exportation de matériel militaire et aéronautique ) is a French company which specialises today in the renovation, marketing and maintenance of first generation land, sea and air equipment, mainly from material sourced from
1584-625: The trip to Bahrain, Singh and his wife, Anjum, had an acrimonious divorce. Radia moved from a rented flat in Safdarjung Development Area to a residential estate in Asola . She arranged for her three sons and her sister to come from London and live in India with her. Singh also moved in with her and Radia began introducing herself as Singh's wife on social occasions. She also certified herself as Singh's spouse in legal papers. After
1628-400: Was arrested by Delhi Police for allegedly kidnapping Niira Radia's teenage son. The police also searched Singh's office and took away all files in his possession relating to Radia's business dealings. Singh was charged under Indian Penal Code Sections 364A, 365, 307, 120B/34. Singh spent nearly a year and a half in jail before lawyer RK Anand filed bail for him. In 2011 Singh gave an interview to
1672-600: Was at that time also in talks with Ratan Tata over a 40% stake in Air India and it put in a good word for Radia. In 2000 Radia attempted to start her own airline, Crown Air, but the Ministry of Civil Aviation declined to give her permission because it failed to meet the requirements for adequate paid-up capital, ownership pattern, equity base and appointment of a chairman. Radia increased the paid-up capital from just ₹100,000 (₹1,00,000) to ₹300 million (₹30 million); clarified that she and her sister, Karuna Menon, were
1716-551: Was before she changed her name, evidently on the advice of her astrologers, and added another "i" to it. But Mossack Fonseca (MF) documents, investigated by The Indian Express, show her name simply as Nira Radia and establish that the PR professional whose telephone intercepts became public in 2010 managed an offshore account. In October 2021, the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police summoned Niira in connection with
1760-603: Was born on 19 November 1960 in Nairobi , Kenya in an Indian Punjabi Hindu family, her father was businessman Iqbal Narain Menon (the surname is a variant of Manan ) and her mother was Sudesh Sharma. In the 1970s the family moved to London where she attended Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls followed by the University of Warwick . In 1981 she married Janak Radia, a Gujarati businessman, with whom she had 3 sons. In 1994,
1804-481: Was created in 1997 from the merger of two utility companies (Ofema and Sofma), responsible for supporting and guiding the foreign sales of large French aeronautic and defence groups. Its first President (until 2001) was the Préfet Ivan Barbot (former president of Ofema) who oversaw the privatisation of the company in 1998 around a core group of important shareholders including EADS , Safran (born from
Niira Radia - Misplaced Pages Continue
1848-466: Was deposited the same day and AirUK's pilots took off that same evening. Crownmart earned ₹25 million (₹25 million) as fees for getting the aircraft back into the possession of KLM uk. After the sale of Eurocopter helicopters to Sahara, Sofema approached Radia and Singh suggested that they help broker the sale of helicopters to the Maharashtra and Karnataka state governments. Even though it
1892-455: Was forbidden for state governments to use middlemen and commission agents in the purchase of helicopters, Radia and Singh traveled to London to sign a contract with Sofema. Since a Shiv Sena-BJP government was in power at Maharashtra at that time, Radia asked Ananth Kumar to arrange a meeting with a senior BJP functionary in Nagpur who facilitated the deal. The Maharashtra government, then under
1936-523: Was hired by the Sahara Group in New Delhi, India as an aviation consultant. Acting as a liaison officer , Radia used her expertise in the areas of travel, aviation, government policies and the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to resolve Sahara Airlines ' issues with the commercial department at Indira Gandhi International Airport , Delhi. During these negotiations, Radia met Rao Dheeraj Singh,
#161838