Even as Sebi officials are quizzing Satyam Computer founder B Ramalinga Raju and his brother Rama Raju at the Chanchalguda jail here, the Andhra Pradesh police are likely to make more arrests in the Rs 7,800-crore fraud involving the IT major.
Satyam reveals four sets of issues, each of which calls for a different response.
In an interview, author and columnist Steve Hamm shared his thoughts on the Satyam episode, World Bank ban on Wipro et al.
The second charge sheet may highlight some more financial transaction made by Raju and some of his associates.
Maytas Infra was entrusted with the task of constructing a township colony at Rs 233 crore (Rs 2.33 billion) in Jharsuguda following a contract in March 2008, a Vedanta official told PTI.
Those involved in Satyam have also been fudging carbon credits but they get away as there is no penalty. Ever
In an hour-long chat on rediff.com on Monday, Ganesh Natarajan, chairman of National Association of Software and Service Companies, replied to many queries on the Satyam scam.
Ramalinga Raju's lawyer S Bharat Kumar told the media after his meeting with the Sebi officials that he had sought three day's time for Raju's appearance but they granted time only till tomorrow
"It defies logic, one is not sure whether there is much more to it than is written in the letter and whether the letter contains all the facts," KPMG chief operating officer Richard Rekhy said on the sidelines of a CII function in New Delhi. It is too simplistic at the moment to believe that the kind of thing that has happened in the company is done by Raju alone, he said.
Scandal-hit Satyam Computer Services is likely to abandon its proposed IT park project in Gandhinagar in view of the multi-crore fraud in the Hyderabad-based software firm, Gujarat government officials said on Friday.
For the whole world B Ramalinga Raju may be a villain, after the startling revelation of fraud in the company he founded, but for residents of his native village in West Godavari district, he is still a good Samaritan.
PwC's comments are still awaited. Following a letter from the Satyam chairman, who accepted that he had misrepresented facts in the company's balance sheet, role of auditors and accountants for the company has also come under scanner.
Satyam's last month's gaffe of transferring funds to promoter group companies by buying stakes in the latter already raised a stink. It led us to doubt the faith that investors had put on a company's management, its independent directors, auditors, consultants and rating agencies.
B Teja Raju, the elder son of Saytam Computer chief B Ramalinga Raju, on Saturday took over additional charge of chief executive officer of Maytas Infra in place of P K Madhav, who was arrested on December 16, 2008 in connection with the Nagarjuna Finance depositors' case.
In what could bring some respite to Maytas Infra, which is caught in a controversy after Satyam aborted its bid to acquire it, the Andhra Pradesh government refused to see the Satyam issue as a factor that would impact the Rs 12,000-crore (Rs 120 billion) Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) project, which is being executed by a Maytas-led consortium.
December 16, 2008 is a day two high-profile corporate honchos from Andhra Pradesh will not forget in a hurry.
"Now if there is somebody who knows about the confession (and) wants to buy (or sell) at price 'X', should we as a regulator be coming in the way?" C B Bhave, chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India, told PTI. His first reaction on receipt of Raju's e-mail was, however, that of disbelief.
A growing number of companies are in an innovation mode to engage employees in the wallet, mind and heart.
Satyam Computer Services Limited on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding with West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation Limited for setting up its development centre in Kolkata.
'It is revealed that an amount of Rs 1,425 crore out of Rs 1,744 crore loan obtained from NBFCs was transferred to the bank accounts of SCSL by 37 companies as loan over a period ranging from November 17, 2006 to October 30, 2008 to meet the expenses of the Satyam Computer Services Limited. Out of this amount, Rs 194 crore was returned by SCSL during October and November 2008 to 15 out of the 37 companies,' the CBI said in its chargesheet.
IL&FS Financial Services has acquired 14.5 per cent stake in Maytas Infra, promoted by former Satyam chairman B Ramalinga Raju's kin, through invocation of pledge and off-market transactions.
In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, Maytas Infra said a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on Thursday to appoint Vaish and Jain as directors of the company in accordance with the order of the Company Law Board. Former ICAI president Ved Jain and noted tax lawyer O P Vaish were named as new board members of Maytas Infra following CLB directing the government to appoint four nominee directors, including a chairman, on the company's board.
Maytas Infra will now have to submit a Rs 240 crore bank guarantee and will get a 60 day breather by paying a penalty. "The global recession and the consequent credit squeeze in national and international capital markets has created a force majeure situation. Besides, the ongoing PIL (filed by an NGO) is having an extremely deleterious effect on our ability to achieve the financial closure," said the company.
At the end of seven-day custody of the accused, the CBI counsel informed the designated court that the agency is yet to complete the interrogation and wanted two more days of their custody.
The arguments were made by the government before the CLB, which is considering a petition by the government for removal of the board of Maytas Properties. The CLB is likely to pass the order later. The government also alleged that the valuation of Maytas Properties by the consultancy firm was done in a day.
At a time when almost 90 per cent of my Satyam friends are cribbing about the fraud and betrayal by (former Satyam chairman) B Ramalinga Raju, I have a slightly different opinion.
Despite its success, EMRI is as much under a cloud today as its founder Ramalinga Raju, with a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court questioning the way he got 12 state governments to implement it and reimburse 95 per cent of its expenses. The key issue is that the states entrusted Rs 18 billion annually (if 10,000 vans are to run in all the states by next year) to a private company without going through a transparent selection procedure.
Shares of Maytas Infra hit its lower circuit just after opening, to halt trading at Rs 105, down 4.99 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange. A similar fate was faced on the National Stock Exchange, where the scrip touched an intra-day low of Rs 105.40, down five per cent. A total of 971 shares got traded on both the bourses.
Corruption is an endemic part of the system, so why should Satyam be subject to higher ethical standards by auditors, bankers, etc. than some other company?
Asking the government not to use taxpayers money to bail out scam-struck Satyam, the CPI(M) on Friday demanded confiscation of about 17,500 acres of land, given to it and two Maytas companies by the Andhra Pradesh government, to pay for the salaries of its 53,000 employees.
The hammering in the stock prices of the company, that was promoted by the family of disgraced Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju started from January 7, the day Raju made public an about Rs 7,800-crore (Rs 78-billion) fraud. Shares of the company fell five per cent immediately after opening on the BSE and the National Stock Exchange and witnessed lows of Rs 117 on BSE and Rs 116.75 on NSE. On the volume front only 525 shares were traded on the bourses.
B. Ramalinga Raju: his admission of manipulating Satyam's books for 'several years' has undermined faith in Indian corporate governance
Satyam is still to log out Raju, his brother and other members of his top management team, despite his quitting as chairman on January 7 after admitting to a Rs 7,800-crore (Rs 78-billion) financial wrongdoing. His brother Rama Raju, who quit on the same day and is also in the jail, is still being presented as the managing director and member of the board of the scam-tainted company on its official website.
In an e-mail interview to Assistant Managing Editor Indrani Roy Mitra, chairman of National Association of Software and Service Companies, Ganesh Natarajan discusses the issues related to the Satyam debacle.
There are very few takers for B Ramalinga Raju's astounding claim that the margin earned by Satyam in the quarter ended September 2008 was just 3 per cent, and not 24 per cent as reported in the results.
As a 'C' class prisoner Raju would be eligible for 650 grams of rice thrice a day and 250 grams of vegetable curry and 125 grams of dal.
Though the decision to pull out of the Rs 8,603-crore (Rs 86.03 billion) multi-services SEZ project in Tamil Nadu has been taken by the MMTC brass, the formal approval for aborting the plan is expected on January 16 from the MMTC board.
Amid speculation over his whereabouts, B Ramalinga Raju, who stepped down as chairman of Satyam Computer after admitting to financial irregularities, is believed to have left for the United States in connection with a court case.
The stake of B Ramalinga Raju's family in Satyam Computer Services may have come down to just around four per cent from 8.61 per cent of the equity of Rs 134.10 crore as at the end of March 2008.
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