New Delhi: Tainted IT major Satyam Computer Services Limited may just get a breather on Friday as many lending institutions, including the State Bank of India (SBI), say they are not averse to giving a loan to Satyam as they believe the company’s fundamentals are strong.
However it is not all going to be a pleasant ride as Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will move court seeking permission to re-record the statements of disgraced former chairman Ramalinga Raju, his brother Rama Raju and the company’s former CFO V Srinivas.
The hearing will take place at the Nampally Court in Hyderabad.
SEBI would also make crucial enquiries on three counts: insider trading, fraudulent trade practices, and other disclosures. And as the three will plead for bail, the state CID will seek their custody.
However, SEBI's petition seeking former Satyam Chairman B Ramalinga Raju's deposition before SEBI officials, Raju’s lawyer Bharat Kumar argued that the SEBI did not have the power to take Raju into custody.
"The application itself is not maintainable on the ground that there is no provision in law under Section11 of the SEBI Act which gives power or the scope or any right to SEBI officials to seek the re-recording of Raju’s statement in custody," Kumar said.
Auditing firms KPMG and Deloitte — roped in to look at the accounts of Satyam — could take at least 8-12 weeks for any report.
FORENSIC PROBE INTO SATYAM
As the new board looks to nurse Satyam Computer Services Ltd back government agencies are having trouble deciphering the complex accounting web created by Ramalinga Raju.
Andhra Pradesh CID officials are retrieving crucial information from the laptops, hard-disk's and various documents, seized during raids conducted at the offices of the scam-ridden Satyam Computers, to unravel the fraud in the firm.
The raids were conducted at the residences of Satyam's former chairman B Ramalinga Raju, his brother and former MD Rama Raju and ex-CFO Vadlamani Srinivas on January 11 and 12.
The officials are also taking the help of accounting professionals to understand the details of the issue, a senior officer probing the case said.
"We are working day and night on the issue. The probe will take time given the magnitude of the matter.
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"We are waiting for the court’s decision where bail petitions of former chairman of Satyam B Ramalinga Raju, his brother and former MD Rama Raju and ex-CFO Vadlamani Srinivas will come up along with SEBI's plea for quizzing Raju and CID petition seeking their police custody," he said.
"We are coordinating with other probe agencies like SEBI and SFIO and exchanging information," he said.
NOT IN DIRE STRAITS
Meanwhile, Satyam's new board says its finances are not as dire as feared, with its receivables being a healthy Rs 1,700 crore.
HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh, one of the government nominees on the Satyam board, says the company has pending payments worth Rs 1,700 crore and if that sum comes through the IT giant won't need a bailout.
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