New Delhi, Jan 11 Moving quickly to stabilise the fraud-devastated Satyam Computer, the government today nominated noted banker Deepak Parekh, IT expert Kiran Karnik and former SEBI member C Achutan to the IT company's Board.
The three-member board would meet within 24 hours to decide on the remaining up to seven members along with the Chairman, Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta told reporters in a hurriedly called press conference two days after disbanding the truncated Satyam Board.
On the demand by institutional investors like LIC and Lazard for a representation on the Board, Gupta said, 'All options are open in the interest of the company.' The board would have eminent personalities from finance, law, IT and administration, Gupta said.
Gupta said that more members to the board would be nominated only if needed.
Asked about the priorities before the board, HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh told PTI over telephone, 'The first priority would be to meet as soon as possible... we will have to clear the mess.'
'I'm yet to talk to the other members,' Parekh said. Karnik, former President of NASSCOM, also said that the three newly named board members would meet as soon as possible and that the first priority is the arrangement of an operational management.
'We are trying to ensure that India continues to be safe, secure and reliable destination for IT services,' he said.
Related Stories:
Government moves to clean up Satyam mess
New Delhi (IANS): The Indian government swung into action Saturday to deal with the perpetrators of the Satyam's Rs.70-billion (Rs.7,000-crore) accounting scam, while the market regulator said it would seek the court's permission to question the company's founder.
On a day of quick developments, Satyam founder and former chairman B. Ramalinga Raju and his brother B. Rama Raju, who were arrested Friday night, were sent to jail till Jan 23.
On Saturday evening, Satyam's former chief financial officer Vadlamani Srinivas was also arrested. He will be produced before a magistrate Sunday.
Market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will now seek permission of the magistrate to record Ramalinga Raju's statement in Hyderabad Monday.
SEBI chairman C.B. Bhave also met Corporate Affairs Minister P.C. Gupta here Saturday evening to discuss the ongoing investigations into the scam, a ministry official said.
'The ministry and SEBI are jointly probing the Satyam scandal. Bhave has met the minister to discuss the developments that have unfolded of late,' he added.
A SEBI team has been probing the fraud since Thursday and has checked the books of accounts at Satyam offices in Hyderabad.
Earlier Saturday, the VI Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Hyderabad sent the disgraced Raju brothers to jail till Jan 23. They will be lodged in Chanchalguda jail in the old city of Hyderabad.
The brothers have been charged with cheating, criminal conspiracy, forgery and criminal breach of trust, among others, after being grilled by the state's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers for over three hours Friday night.
The magistrate rejected their lawyer's plea to permit Ramalinga Raju to get admitted to a hospital in view of his ill-health.
'Please permit my client to be admitted to a hospital,' lawyer S. Bharat Kumar pleaded. He will now move court Monday for bail.
The government had intervened Friday to supersede the Satyam board. Announcing this, company affairs minister Gupta had said at a press conference: 'The government should be allowed to appoint 10 nominee directors for the company. The new board has to meet within the next seven days.
'The Company Law Board has already issued an order to the existing directors of the board restraining them from exercising their functions and the order becomes effective immediately,' the minister had added.
Meanwhile, in Chennai, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) said auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which had certified the accounts of Satyam Computer Services as 'true and fair', is bound to disclose all facts and cannot hide under the client confidentiality clause.
'The confession of accounting fraud of a huge magnitude is an extraordinary situation. The auditor who certified the company's accounts or the firm in which he is a partner cannot hide under client confidentiality clause,' V. Murali, a member of ICAI's central council of, told IANS.
ICAI's Financial Reporting Review Board has issued a notice to PwC asking for details of the auditors who certified the accounts. The board will also look at Satyam's audit systems and practices.
Satyam's last balance sheet was certified by Srinivas Talluri and the 2006-07 accounts by S. Gopalakrishnan, both PwC partners.
'We have also called for the working papers. Checking the audit working sheets as how bank reconciliation statement was prepared will throw more light on the accounting fraud,' Murali said.
Incidentally, two PwC partners, Harinderjit Singh and Gopalakrishnan, are members of ICAI's central council.
CID grills Ramalinga Raju, brother
Hyderabad, Jan 10 (IANS) Sleuths of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Andhra Pradesh police Saturday grilled disgraced former Satyam Computer Services chairman B. Ramalinga Raju and his brother and former company managing director B. Rama Raju in connection with a Rs.70 billion (1.43 billion) fraud in the company.
Inspector General of Police (Economic Offences Wing) V.S.K. Kaumudi and other CID officials interrogated them throughout the night, police sources said here Saturday.
Ramalinga Raju's lawyer S. Bharat Kumar told reporters that the two were questioned for over three hours.
Ramalinga Raju, who founded India's fourth largest IT firm, reportedly complained of uneasiness during the interrogation and police called a doctor to have him examined.
The CID officials questioned Ramalinga Raju about the confession he made in his statement Wednesday while resigning as chairman of the company.
The sources said the CID was trying to collect evidence that can be produced before the court while seeking their custody later in the day. Since the courts are closed on account of holiday, the accused may be produced before a magistrate at his residence.
Since Ramalinga Raju is a diabetic and has high blood pressure, his lawyer may request the magistrate to order police to render necessary medical assistance by admitting him to a hospital.
The brothers, arrested on charges of cheating and forgery after admission of inflated and non-existent revenues in accounts, spent the night in custody at the Andhra Pradesh police headquarters.
Police officer Kaumudi said the former Satyam bosses were booked under non-bailable sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the punishment could be up to 10 years.
Kaumudi told reporters late Friday night that both the accused would be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours.
Legal experts said the accused were not likely to get bail, at least for 14 days. Ramalinga Raju's counsel said a bail petition would be moved after they were produced in court.
Amid high drama, Ramalinga Raju and his brother accompanied by their lawyer drove to the police headquarters around 10 p.m. Friday to surrender but the CID officials arrested them to show that they were taking tough action.
Director General of Police S.S.P. Yadav told IANS that the state police arrested Ramalinga Raju and Rama Raju on charges of 'criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy, cheating, falsification of records and forgery'.
A few minutes before the Rajus surrendered to police, CID had booked a criminal case against them.
The police sources said the case was registered on a complaint by Leela Mangat, a Satyam shareholder. The former bank employee complained that she held 200 shares in Satyam and lost heavily due to Ramalinga Raju's action.
Ever since Ramalinga Raju admitted the massive fraud in the company Wednesday, police had been maintaining that they could arrest him only if somebody lodges a complaint. His whereabouts had also not been known.
Kaumudi said the arrest did not preclude investigations being carried out against the accused by the Registrar of Companies and market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
SEBI had Friday served summons on Ramalinga Raju and his lawyer had said that he would appear before SEBI officials at 4 p.m. Saturday. Following the arrest, the SEBI team is now likely to question him while he is in CID custody.
Ramalinga Raju's lawyer told reporters that SEBI would have to seek permission from the court to interrogate him.
The SEBI team has been conducting the probe into the fraud since Thursday. It checked the books of accounts at Satyam offices here.
Meanwhile, the police sources said the CID might also arrest Vadlamani Srinivas, who resigned as chief financial officer (CFO) Thursday. The whereabouts of Srinivas is not known.
Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had ordered probe by CID Wednesday to 'look at the criminal angle into the entire episode'.
The CID stepped up investigations following criticism by opposition parties that the Congress government was soft towards Ramalinga Raju.
Satyam's Raju, brother arrested
Hyderabad (IANS): The Andhra Pradesh police Friday night arrested disgraced former founder-chairman of Satyam Computers B. Ramalinga Raju and his brother and former company managing director B. Rama Raju on charges of cheating and forgery.
The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the state police arrested Ramalinga Raju and Rama Raju on charges of 'criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy, cheating, falsification of records and forgery', Director General of Police S.S.P. Yadav told IANS.
The two brothers accompanied by their lawyer S. Bharat Kumar reached the state police headquarters and surrendered before the police. They were interrogated by CID personnel for some time before being arrested.
Their move came after a criminal case was registered against them by the CID in the Rs.70 billion financial fraud in the company.
The case was registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The CID sleuths will interrogate the two to ascertain the veracity of Ramalinga Raju's shocking admission Wednesday of being behind the fraud. They are likely to be produced before a magistrate either late in the night or on Saturday morning.
Raju quit as chairman Wednesday while admitting that the company cooked its books resulting in an 'inflated (non-existent) cash and bank balances' over several years. His brother Rama Raju has also quit as managing director.
They had remained untraced ever since they sent their resignations to Satyam board.
Their surrender and subsequent arrest by the CID came hours after Ramalinga Raju's lawyer told reporters that he would appear before market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Saturday.
Meanwhile, police sources said the CID might also arrest Vadlamani Srinivas, who resigned as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) on Thursday. The whereabouts of Srinivas is not known.
The Rajus were arrested hours after CID began the probe. Earlier in the day, a team of CID officials verified records at Satyam's headquarters here and spoke to a few employees.
Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had ordered probe by CID on Wednesday to 'look at the criminal angle into the entire episode'.
The CID stepped up investigations amid criticism by opposition parties that the Congress government was soft towards Ramalinga Raju.
The three-member board would meet within 24 hours to decide on the remaining up to seven members along with the Chairman, Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta told reporters in a hurriedly called press conference two days after disbanding the truncated Satyam Board.
On the demand by institutional investors like LIC and Lazard for a representation on the Board, Gupta said, 'All options are open in the interest of the company.' The board would have eminent personalities from finance, law, IT and administration, Gupta said.
Gupta said that more members to the board would be nominated only if needed.
Asked about the priorities before the board, HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh told PTI over telephone, 'The first priority would be to meet as soon as possible... we will have to clear the mess.'
'I'm yet to talk to the other members,' Parekh said. Karnik, former President of NASSCOM, also said that the three newly named board members would meet as soon as possible and that the first priority is the arrangement of an operational management.
'We are trying to ensure that India continues to be safe, secure and reliable destination for IT services,' he said.
Related Stories:
Government moves to clean up Satyam mess
New Delhi (IANS): The Indian government swung into action Saturday to deal with the perpetrators of the Satyam's Rs.70-billion (Rs.7,000-crore) accounting scam, while the market regulator said it would seek the court's permission to question the company's founder.
On a day of quick developments, Satyam founder and former chairman B. Ramalinga Raju and his brother B. Rama Raju, who were arrested Friday night, were sent to jail till Jan 23.
On Saturday evening, Satyam's former chief financial officer Vadlamani Srinivas was also arrested. He will be produced before a magistrate Sunday.
Market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will now seek permission of the magistrate to record Ramalinga Raju's statement in Hyderabad Monday.
SEBI chairman C.B. Bhave also met Corporate Affairs Minister P.C. Gupta here Saturday evening to discuss the ongoing investigations into the scam, a ministry official said.
'The ministry and SEBI are jointly probing the Satyam scandal. Bhave has met the minister to discuss the developments that have unfolded of late,' he added.
A SEBI team has been probing the fraud since Thursday and has checked the books of accounts at Satyam offices in Hyderabad.
Earlier Saturday, the VI Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Hyderabad sent the disgraced Raju brothers to jail till Jan 23. They will be lodged in Chanchalguda jail in the old city of Hyderabad.
The brothers have been charged with cheating, criminal conspiracy, forgery and criminal breach of trust, among others, after being grilled by the state's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers for over three hours Friday night.
The magistrate rejected their lawyer's plea to permit Ramalinga Raju to get admitted to a hospital in view of his ill-health.
'Please permit my client to be admitted to a hospital,' lawyer S. Bharat Kumar pleaded. He will now move court Monday for bail.
The government had intervened Friday to supersede the Satyam board. Announcing this, company affairs minister Gupta had said at a press conference: 'The government should be allowed to appoint 10 nominee directors for the company. The new board has to meet within the next seven days.
'The Company Law Board has already issued an order to the existing directors of the board restraining them from exercising their functions and the order becomes effective immediately,' the minister had added.
Meanwhile, in Chennai, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) said auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which had certified the accounts of Satyam Computer Services as 'true and fair', is bound to disclose all facts and cannot hide under the client confidentiality clause.
'The confession of accounting fraud of a huge magnitude is an extraordinary situation. The auditor who certified the company's accounts or the firm in which he is a partner cannot hide under client confidentiality clause,' V. Murali, a member of ICAI's central council of, told IANS.
ICAI's Financial Reporting Review Board has issued a notice to PwC asking for details of the auditors who certified the accounts. The board will also look at Satyam's audit systems and practices.
Satyam's last balance sheet was certified by Srinivas Talluri and the 2006-07 accounts by S. Gopalakrishnan, both PwC partners.
'We have also called for the working papers. Checking the audit working sheets as how bank reconciliation statement was prepared will throw more light on the accounting fraud,' Murali said.
Incidentally, two PwC partners, Harinderjit Singh and Gopalakrishnan, are members of ICAI's central council.
CID grills Ramalinga Raju, brother
Hyderabad, Jan 10 (IANS) Sleuths of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Andhra Pradesh police Saturday grilled disgraced former Satyam Computer Services chairman B. Ramalinga Raju and his brother and former company managing director B. Rama Raju in connection with a Rs.70 billion (1.43 billion) fraud in the company.
Inspector General of Police (Economic Offences Wing) V.S.K. Kaumudi and other CID officials interrogated them throughout the night, police sources said here Saturday.
Ramalinga Raju's lawyer S. Bharat Kumar told reporters that the two were questioned for over three hours.
Ramalinga Raju, who founded India's fourth largest IT firm, reportedly complained of uneasiness during the interrogation and police called a doctor to have him examined.
The CID officials questioned Ramalinga Raju about the confession he made in his statement Wednesday while resigning as chairman of the company.
The sources said the CID was trying to collect evidence that can be produced before the court while seeking their custody later in the day. Since the courts are closed on account of holiday, the accused may be produced before a magistrate at his residence.
Since Ramalinga Raju is a diabetic and has high blood pressure, his lawyer may request the magistrate to order police to render necessary medical assistance by admitting him to a hospital.
The brothers, arrested on charges of cheating and forgery after admission of inflated and non-existent revenues in accounts, spent the night in custody at the Andhra Pradesh police headquarters.
Police officer Kaumudi said the former Satyam bosses were booked under non-bailable sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the punishment could be up to 10 years.
Kaumudi told reporters late Friday night that both the accused would be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours.
Legal experts said the accused were not likely to get bail, at least for 14 days. Ramalinga Raju's counsel said a bail petition would be moved after they were produced in court.
Amid high drama, Ramalinga Raju and his brother accompanied by their lawyer drove to the police headquarters around 10 p.m. Friday to surrender but the CID officials arrested them to show that they were taking tough action.
Director General of Police S.S.P. Yadav told IANS that the state police arrested Ramalinga Raju and Rama Raju on charges of 'criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy, cheating, falsification of records and forgery'.
A few minutes before the Rajus surrendered to police, CID had booked a criminal case against them.
The police sources said the case was registered on a complaint by Leela Mangat, a Satyam shareholder. The former bank employee complained that she held 200 shares in Satyam and lost heavily due to Ramalinga Raju's action.
Ever since Ramalinga Raju admitted the massive fraud in the company Wednesday, police had been maintaining that they could arrest him only if somebody lodges a complaint. His whereabouts had also not been known.
Kaumudi said the arrest did not preclude investigations being carried out against the accused by the Registrar of Companies and market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
SEBI had Friday served summons on Ramalinga Raju and his lawyer had said that he would appear before SEBI officials at 4 p.m. Saturday. Following the arrest, the SEBI team is now likely to question him while he is in CID custody.
Ramalinga Raju's lawyer told reporters that SEBI would have to seek permission from the court to interrogate him.
The SEBI team has been conducting the probe into the fraud since Thursday. It checked the books of accounts at Satyam offices here.
Meanwhile, the police sources said the CID might also arrest Vadlamani Srinivas, who resigned as chief financial officer (CFO) Thursday. The whereabouts of Srinivas is not known.
Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had ordered probe by CID Wednesday to 'look at the criminal angle into the entire episode'.
The CID stepped up investigations following criticism by opposition parties that the Congress government was soft towards Ramalinga Raju.
Satyam's Raju, brother arrested
Hyderabad (IANS): The Andhra Pradesh police Friday night arrested disgraced former founder-chairman of Satyam Computers B. Ramalinga Raju and his brother and former company managing director B. Rama Raju on charges of cheating and forgery.
The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the state police arrested Ramalinga Raju and Rama Raju on charges of 'criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy, cheating, falsification of records and forgery', Director General of Police S.S.P. Yadav told IANS.
The two brothers accompanied by their lawyer S. Bharat Kumar reached the state police headquarters and surrendered before the police. They were interrogated by CID personnel for some time before being arrested.
Their move came after a criminal case was registered against them by the CID in the Rs.70 billion financial fraud in the company.
The case was registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The CID sleuths will interrogate the two to ascertain the veracity of Ramalinga Raju's shocking admission Wednesday of being behind the fraud. They are likely to be produced before a magistrate either late in the night or on Saturday morning.
Raju quit as chairman Wednesday while admitting that the company cooked its books resulting in an 'inflated (non-existent) cash and bank balances' over several years. His brother Rama Raju has also quit as managing director.
They had remained untraced ever since they sent their resignations to Satyam board.
Their surrender and subsequent arrest by the CID came hours after Ramalinga Raju's lawyer told reporters that he would appear before market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Saturday.
Meanwhile, police sources said the CID might also arrest Vadlamani Srinivas, who resigned as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) on Thursday. The whereabouts of Srinivas is not known.
The Rajus were arrested hours after CID began the probe. Earlier in the day, a team of CID officials verified records at Satyam's headquarters here and spoke to a few employees.
Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had ordered probe by CID on Wednesday to 'look at the criminal angle into the entire episode'.
The CID stepped up investigations amid criticism by opposition parties that the Congress government was soft towards Ramalinga Raju.
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