CBI charge Andimuthu Raja with taking bribes: Lawyer

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday charged former telecoms minister Andimuthu Raja with receiving bribes, a police 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 USD 39 billion in potential revenue.

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.