CBI charges Raja with taking bribes: lawyer

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday charged former telecommunications minister Andimuthu Raja with receiving bribes, a CBI lawyer said, in connection with a multi-billion dollar telecoms corruption scandal that has rocked governance and investor sentiment in Asia's third-largest economy.

Raja was charged with receiving bribes by the CBI after previously being charged with forgery and conspiracy in a probe into the 2G licensing scandal that state auditor CAG said may have deprived the government up to Rs 1.76 lakh crore ($39 billion) in potential revenue.

In the supplementary chargesheet, CBI has also named Kanimozhi, the daughter of DMK Chief Minister Karunanidhi and also a Rajya Sabha MP as a co-conspirator with A Raja in the 2G scam.

Months of corruption scandals have battered the Congress party-led government, stymied its agenda for economic reforms and fed a sense of regulatory uncertainty in the world's fastest growing mobile phone market.

Meanwhile, the court summoned three accused in telcoms graft case, including Kanimozhi to appear in the court on May 6.