Ravi Ruia decided to step down as Chairman of the London-listed Essar Energy

Ravi Ruia decided on 21 December 2011 to step down as chairman of the London-listed Essar Energy after a trial court admitted a criminal chargesheet filed by the investigating agency. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chargesheeted three Essar Group honchos, including Ravi Ruia, alleging violation of telecom industry guidelines.
Prashant Ruia, presently the vice chairman, will take over as interim chairman while Ravi Ruia will continue as a director of Essar Energy.

Billionaire brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruia lead the $17-billion diversified Essar Group. Essar Energy is owned 76.72% by Essar Global, which is the principal holding company for the group's business activities globally. Essar firms listed on the domestic bourses are- Essar Oil and Essar Shipping.

Essar Energy is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is also the only firm in which Ravi Ruia is a chairman. In all other group companies, listed or unlisted, it is his elder brother, Shashi Ruia is chairman.

CBI had named the Essar Group promoters, Anshuman and Ravi Ruia, Loop Telecom promoters Kiran Khaitan and I P Khaitan, and Essar Group director (strategy and planning) Vikas Saraf, as accused in the case. Cognizance of the CBI chargesheet against Essar-Loop, the trial court summoned all the eight accused, including three companies, to appear before it on 27 January 2012. The companies named were Loop Telecom Pvt Ltd, Loop Mobile India Ltd and Essar Tele Holding.

In charges filed on 12 December 2012, the CBI alleged the group violated Clause 8 of the guidelines governing the mobile telecom UAS licences by withholding facts about the size of its stake in Loop Telecom thereby creating a complex corporate veil.