Dewas case: French court orders seizure of Indian assets worth Rs 33 crore

- India's assets confiscated in one more country after Canada

- Government of India has assets everywhere in the world, confiscation is just beginning in Canada, France: Dewas Multimedia

- Arbitration pays compensation to Dewas Multimedia for cancellation of satellite deal with ISRO in 2011

Paris: Following Canada, a French court has ordered confiscation of assets worth Rs 3 crore at the Indian Embassy in Paris following a request from investors at Dewas Multimedia. An application was made to enforce the arbitration tribunal's ચૂક 1.6 billion payment order in the case of cancellation of the satellite spectrum usage agreement. In this case, a French court has ordered the shareholders of Devas to judicially mortgage an apartment located in a posh area of ​​Paris.

The building, which was ordered to be mortgaged by a French court, was used as the residence of the Vice President of the Indian Embassy and is valued at approximately 3 lakh Euros (Rs. 3 crore). "The Indian government has assets everywhere in the world," said Jay Newman, a senior consultant at Dewas Multimedia. This is just the beginning. We are planning to seize several other properties.

The three companies investing in Dewas had appealed to the court in the case on September 4, 2021. These companies include Dewas Mauritius, Telecom Dewas Mauritius and Dewas Employees Mauritius Pvt. Ltd. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Government of India have not commented on the decision.

Dewas Multimedia entered into an agreement with ISRO's commercial space unit Space in 2009 to provide multimedia services to mobile phone holders using S-band satellite spectrum on lease. But the deal was scrapped in 2011 after allegations of rigging in the spectrum auction.

Dewas Multimedia initiated arbitration proceedings against the order. Mauritius Investors and Deutsche Telekom, which are partners in the company, also filed separate arbitration proceedings in the case. India lost all three cases.

The arbitration authority had ordered the Indian government to pay ૩ 1.5 billion in exchange for canceling the deal. To enforce the order, Dewas investors had appealed for an order to seize the assets of the Government of India. Devas Multimedia's shareholders include American investment group Columbia Capital and Telecom Ventures, as well as Deutsche Telekom.

In the Dewas case, a Canadian court also ordered the seizure of એર 12 million from Air India and એર 12 million from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) held by the International Air Transportation Association (IATA). However, the superior court later ordered release of 50 per cent of Air India and AAI. The court order gave some relief to Air India, AAI.