Market regulator Sebi is seeking the Supreme Court's permission to interrogate Satyam's disgraced founder Ramalinga Raju and his brother Rama Raju in connection with the Rs 7,800-crore fraud in the IT company.
The Hinduja Group chairman, who was in Davos to participate in the World Economic Forum, however, noted that the incident might not have much impact on the reputation of India Inc in the eyes of foreigners, who are more used to such scams. Raju's confession not only shocked India Inc, but investors all over the world. Such type of wrongdoings are more prevalent in the western world and foreigners are used to this kind of happenings, Hinduja said.
Proof of disgraced Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju's political influence--an issue that is being widely discussed following his January 7 confessions of fraud--was strongly in evidence as far back as 2002, when his company was at the height of its success.
The Raju brothers, along with Satyam's former CFO Vadlamani Srinivas, are in judicial custody awaiting charges to be filed against them. On January 7, Raju disclosed that he had falsified profits and created fictitious assets in the company, which is now being administered by a government-appointed board.
The government said on Wednesday that Satyam Computer Services' disgraced founder Ramalinga Raju created a network of about 300 companies and diverted funds from one company to another in a complex but carefully planned process. Speaking to Karan Thapar on the CNN-IBN news channel, Gupta said, "Our information is that there was a network of almost 300 compnaies and funds were diverted from one company to (another) and then to (a) third."
The New York Stock Exchange-listed Indian IT major Satyam Computer Services' founder and then-chairman Ramalinga Raju had shocked the world three weeks ago on January 7 with the disclosure of a massive financial wrongdoing to the tune of over a billion dollar at the company. This was followed by the NYSE suspending trading in Satyam shares the very same day.
Sebi, which is probing charges of insider trading in the Satyam case, sought a day's custody of Ramalinga Raju and Rama Raju, who are currently in judicial custody. The regulator's request for a day's custody of the Raju brothers, however, was turned down by the sixth additional chief metropolitan magistrate on January 23.
In a sensational disclosure, a public prosecutor has told a local court in Hyderabad that the disgraced chairman of Satyam Computer Services B Ramalinga Raju had not only inflated the number of employees by thirteen thousand but also used the fictitious numbers to mint money.
The company, promoted by former Satyam Computer Services chairman B Ramalinga Raju's family, was originally required to announce its third-quarter results by the end of this month. Various agencies, including the state Criminal Investigation Department, have been probing the Maytas affair after B Ramalinga Raju admitted to serious financial fraud in Satyam.
The corollary of a bailout is government say in management.
The regulator's announcement on disclosure of pledged shares comes in the wake of the Satyam scam, wherein promoter Ramalinga Raju had pledged nearly all his shares -- whose prices he had inflated by falsifying profits. The details of disclosure, which should be made in two stages -- event-based and periodical -- will be notified shortly after amending the relevant regulations and listing agreements, Sebi chairman C B Bhave told reporters after the board meeting in Mumbai.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia had misgivings on how and why the chief minister could raise so much money by selling government land, but eventually cleared the annual plan that was promised to be funded by a 32 per cent increase in the state's tax revenues. He put on record his doubts in a 3-page communication to the prime minister on April 23, 2008, a copy of which is with rediff.com
Justice P Swaroop Reddy dismissed the three revision petitions filed against the lower court's order on police custody, saying that there was 'no need for the high court's intervention at this juncture.' The 6th additional chief metropolitan magistrate had, on January 17, ordered Raju, his brother Rama Raju and Satyam's former CFO Vadlamani Srinivas to be sent to police custody for four days till January 22.
'P K Madhav, the whole time director and chief executive officer of Maytas Infra Ltd, tendered his resignation from directorship as well as CEO of the company owing to personal reasons,' Maytas said in a filing to BSE. Maytas Infra, promoted by the family of disgraced Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju, has been hitting headlines ever since the IT firm announced a deal to acquire the company, which was later called off following strong opposition by investors.
Even as the buzz around Vivel Paul's candidature as CEO is still doing the rounds at Satyam Computer Services, insiders say the government is considering a person who was an integral part of the company till three months ago.
The 6th Metropolitan Magistrate M Ramakrishna passing the orders on a petition of the Crime Branch-CID of Andhra Pradesh Police on Saturday remanded them to the CID's custody for four days, starting from Sunday.
While the board had 'unanimously' passed the resolution for the $1.6 billion acquisition of two Maytas firms, run by Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju's family, many of the five independent directors raised concerns over the deal. The concerns related to the valuation, actual benefits to the shareholders being a related party transaction and assurance about board being used as a 'rubber stamp' and the company moving away from core business of IT.
During the course of the meeting last month, Satyam's then chief financial officer Vadlamani Srinivas informed the board that the valuation of Maytas Properties was done by Ernst & Young, but the global accounting firm disputed the claim. According to the minutes, members noted the imperative of infrastructure foray, particularly based on leveraging on the brand of Satyam to become an eminent player in infrastructure as well.
The decision to withdraw from participating in the special purpose vehicle, being promoted by the Matyas Group, was taken by the MMTC board. MMTC was in the process of receiving shareholders' approval for investing Rs 85.85 crore and picking up up to a five per cent stake in the Maytas Group's SPV for the SEZ.
Sebi has launched a coordinated investigation with the Registrar of Companies to examine transactions between Satyam and its bankers BNP Paribas, Citibank, HSBC, HDFC and ICICI Bank
As a fallout of the financial irregularities in Satyam Computer Services, a section of the United Progressive Alliance government is in favour of cancelling the award of the Hyderabad Metro Rail project. The project was won by the Nava Bharat-led consortium, in which Maytas Infra, a listed firm related to Satyam's promoters, is one of the partners.
There can be no serious argument for not having an independent regulator in every sector. Regulators in a sector are akin to independent directors on the board of a company who ensure that the game is played by some rules.
The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday gave a version on Ramalinga Raju and Rama Raju's arrests, which contradicts what Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy said.
Employees of the beleaguered Satyam Computer Services are now finding it difficult to get personal loans or pay back equated monthly instalments. Even their credit card limits have been reduced by almost 80 per cent since banks have become stringent following reports of the severe cash crunch at Satyam on the back of the admission of a financial fraud by the former company chairman Ramalinga Raju.
Satyam Computer's $75 million Directors and Officers insurance is unlikely to provide a cover against claims arising out of irregularities committed by the company's founder B Ramalinga Raju.
Srinivas Vadlamani, the Chief Financial Officer of Satyam Computers, was remanded to judicial custody till January 23 by the 6th Metropolitan Magistrate on Sunday. He was later shifted to the Chanchalguda central jail, where former chairman of Satyam B Ramalinga Raju and his younger brother Rama Raju have been lodged since Saturday. Bharat Kumar said that the bail petition for all the three former officials of Satyam will come up for hearing on Monday.
On the last day of Satyam's stint in India's benchmark indices - the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex and the National Stock Exchange S&P CNX Nifty - its shares turned out to be a punter's delight.
The Andhra Pradesh police, which arrested Raju and his brother Rama Raju on different charges including forgery and cheating on Friday night, said that the Sebi team would have to file a request with the Economic Offences Court to interrogate the two.
The authorities have been witnessing significant pressure over the issue and this might be the reason for their expected move towards arresting Raju
Ram Myanampati, the interim chief executive officer of beleaguered Satyam Computer Services, on Thursday admitted that he himself is on a shaky ground.
The hearing of the forgery case filed by British mobile solution firm Upaid against Satyam Computer Services is not scheduled for hearing during this week.
In offices of IT companies across Britain, Indian employees congregate often to discuss the latest news about Satyam, and try to figure out how the fate of the IT giant will affect them professionally. Many of them described Satyam's fall as no less than an 'earthquake'.
The hearing of the forgery case filed by British mobile solution firm Upaid against Satyam Computer Services is not scheduled for hearing during this week. This means no Satyam official -- neither B Ramalinga Raju who stepped down as its chairman after admitting to a financial fraud nor any other top executive -- is in the US for the case. When contacted, a Satyam spokesperson confirmed the development and added that Raju was 'very much' in Hyderabad.
Satyam's chief financial officer Valdamani Srinivas on Thursday sent in his resignation, giving a blow to efforts to hold the top leadership team intact, even interim CEO Ram Mynampati said efforts were on to continue with the business as usual.
Satyam's disgraced chairman B Ramalinga Raju has been removed from all key positions in the apex industry body, CII, following his disclosure of a multi-billion dollar fraud in India's fourth largest IT firm.
A day after Ramalinga Raju announced his departure from Satyam Computer after admitting to the country's biggest ever corporate fraud, a website by his name, launched supposedly by his fans last week, vanished into oblivion on Thursday.
Noting that the market regulator Sebi and the Registrar of Companies are already on the job, the minister said, "As far as the auditors are concerned we have asked ICAI to take strictest possible action against the erring auditors." While a team of Sebi has already reached Hyderabad, headquarters of Satyam Computer, the government has asked the RoC to look into the matters concerning the erring company.
Both Raju and Gelli symbolised the so-called 'Telugu pride' in the corporate world and were considered visionaries in their respective fields of operation. They were heralded as institution-builders, but in the end their fall too was equally swift due to a set of financial frauds. Incidentally, PricewaterhouseCoopers was the auditors of both the institutions.
Startled by the disclosure of fudging of accounts by Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju, market regulator Sebi has ordered a probe into share market operations and inspection of the IT company.
Troubled IT firm Satyam Computer is likely to witness a free fall following its chairman Ramalinga Raju's resignation and his admittance of a major accounting fraud, while analysts expect the scrip may plunge to Rs 20 levels in coming days.
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