Accountancy regulator ICAI on Wednesday agreed to withdraw disciplinary proceedings against audit firm Price Waterhouse Delhi for its alleged involvement in the multi-crore scam in Satyam Computer Services.
Dismissing the petitions of former Price Waterhouse auditors -- S Gopalkrishnan and Talluri Srinivas who sought defreezing of their bank accounts, special judge BVLN Chakravarti considered CBI's contention that further investigations is pending in the case at this stage.
In connection with the multi-billion dollar Satyam scam, the US auditing watchdog has barred from public practice two Indian auditors associated with the IT firm's former auditor PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
The accused has been lodged in Chanchalguda central jail.
The deal comes at a huge cost to minority shareholders who have till date lost close to Rs 5,500 crore that were written off United Spirits' books
The government has decided to make all former Satyam Computer Services top executives and board members, including the independent directors, answerable for the fraud in the company on grounds that they "attempted to enrich themselves unjustifiably at the cost of the company and its stakeholders".
Price Waterhouse, an Indian arm of the global consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, whose partners got embroiled in the Satyam accounting fraud, failed to get a reprieve from the stock market regulator, the Securities and Exchanges Board of India.
Reconstructing the financial statements and appointment of key managerial personnel, especially the chief financial officer, should top the agenda for the newly appointed board of Satyam Computer Services, experts say.
The XIV additional chief metropolitan magistrate extended the remand of Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju, his brother Rama Raju, ex-CFO Vadlamani Srinivas, former auditors of Price Waterhouse S Gopapalakrishnan and Talluri Srinivas, and three former employees of the firm till August 5. The accused, who have been lodged in the Chanchalguda jail, were produced before the magistrate.
The Central Bureau of India on Monday opposed the bail plea of Price Waterhouse auditor Srinivas Talluri who was arrested in Satyam fraud case for allegedly conniving with its founder B Ramalinga Raju and other aides.
Also, on Wednesday Mahindra Satyam said its board has approved settlement of lawsuits brought by its former client Upaid Systems by paying $70 million.
The fourth additional sessions court in Hyderabad on Wednesday posted the orders on the bail petition of Price Waterhouse auditors to Thursday.
Price Waterhouse's S Gopalakrishnan was involved in the Satyam case. The other two auditors who have been found guilty by the ICAI's disciplinary committee in the Global Trust Bank case, five years after the bank had collapsed, are Price Waterhouse partner P Ramakrishna and Lovelock & Lewes employee Manish Agarwal. ICAI President Uttam Agarwal said punitive action against the erring auditors would depend upon the gravity of offence.
Sitharaman, who became the first full-time woman defence minister in the first tenure of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government -- will also head the Corporate Affairs ministry in the new cabinet.
A week after B Ramalinga Raju, the promoter of Satyam Computer Services, confessed to manipulating the accounts for several years, Price Waterhouse, external auditors of the Hyderabad-based software services firm, said its audit report should not be relied upon.
The Fourteenth Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate has granted permission to the Enforcement Directorate, a central government wing, to record the statements of the accused in the Satyam scam from June 9 to 16.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday obtained specimen signatures of former Satyam Computer chairman B Ramalinga Raju and four others accused in connection with the multi-crore rupee fraud in the IT company.
A local court in Hyderabad on Tuesday allowed the CBI to obtain specimen signatures and handwriting of former Satyam chairman B Ramalinga Raju and four other accused in the Satyam fraud case, all of whom are now in the Chanchalguda jail.
A court allowed the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), a central government body, to question Satyam Computer Services founder B Ramalinga Raju, former managing director B Rama Raju, former chief financial officer Srinivas Vadlamani and two Price Waterhouse auditors, S Gopalakrishnan and Srinivas Talluri, for six days from March 29.
ICAI starts proceedings against software firm's CFO and head of audit cell.
Kicking off the formal process for inducting a strategic investor, the Satyam board on Saturday approved the procedure to invite offers from likely suitors.
A local court in Hyderabad dismissed the bail petitions of S Gopalakrishnan and Talluri Srinivas, former partners of auditing firm Price Waterhouse, who are in judicial remand in the Rs 7,800-crore Satyam fraud case.
DiPiazza's visit coincides with Price Waterhouse suspending two of its partners -- S Goplakrishnan and Srinivas Talluri -- who worked on the accounts of scam-hit Satyam Computer Services and were arrested last week.
Government agencies probing the Satyam accounting fraud are in possession of what may well be forged letters from banks certifying that they had issued those FDRs. Sources in one of these banks told Business Standard that it had not issued any letter certifying the existence of FDRs to Price Waterhouse. A Price Waterhouse team may soon make a presentation to the new government-appointed board of Satyam and explain how it relied on the documents.
Sources said GMR could be the first major Indian corporate to engage multiple auditors. GMR will also rotate the auditors at periodic intervals. The length of the rotation period shall be decided by the company board, based on the recommendation of the audit committee. GMR will also employ the services of reputed audit firms for specific assignments of audit as may be decided by the company's board from time to time on the recommendation of the audit committee.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, an advisory and consulting firm whose sister company audited the accounts of Hyderabad-based Satyam Computer Services, has a chequered past with Indian tax authorities, having admitted its "mistake" in at least two cases of tax evasion.
"American jurisdiction will decide independently of what we do here. We cannot be on any help to them (PW) in the US. We cannot go and say (to PW) don't worry we will pay for you," Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said.
India's entertainment and media (E&M) industry may grow by 10.5 per cent cumulatively next five years, to touch Rs 92,950 crore (Rs 929.50 billion), a PriceWaterhouseCoopers report said on Wednesday.
According to a new survey conducted by consultancy major PriceWaterhouseCoopers, about 28 per cent of Indian financial services firms expect to buy stakes in European groups in the next five years and the same percentage intend to enter North America. "Overseas acquisitions by industrial groups such as Tata Steel, Hindalco, Tata Motors and Ranbaxy are clearly proving inspirational," PwC said in its report.
Satyam may have been loaded with funds of over Rs 5,000 crore as on September 2008, but it could have been left with just Rs 200 crore of maturable fixed deposits by the time IT firm's founder Ramalinga Raju revealed financial fraud on January 7.
He also said that there was a need to assure investors that this was a one-off case.
With Goods and Services Tax (GST) officers under pressure to exceed the Rs 1-trillion collection mark per month, industry has faced a barrage of recovery notices and summons issued over the last one month across sectors, according to company executives. Industry bodies have claimed harassment by field officers, blocking of input tax credit, cancellation of GST registration, threats of arrest and steep penalties, impacting their working capital and operations. Company executives pointed at an atmosphere of apprehension and fear due to such notices and summons.
High-end business and leisure travelers are demanding superluxury, and hotels around the world are responding.
India spends only 20.7 per cent of its total health expenditure on public health services, far less than Bangladesh, China and Pakistan, which contribute 25 per cent, 34.9 per cent and 45 per cent respectively, a study revealed.
With information security becoming a big issue around the world, the number of security breaches has shown a massive increase in India.
The valuation for the unit has been carried out by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and finalised by the board committee comprising all the independent directors.
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