Mahindra Satyam trials to begin in 3-4 weeks

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An Indian court will begin trials for the multi-billion accounting fraud at Satyam Computer Services in three to four weeks, the Mint newspaper reported on Friday, citing an unnamed official at India's federal investigator.

Satyam, since renamed Mahindra Satyam , was hit by the country's largest corporate scandal when founder and chairman Ramalinga Raju quit in January, revealing that profits had been overstated for years.

The extent of the fraud at Satyam could be much larger than the 71.36 billion rupees (USD 1.5 billion) that Raju had confessed to in a letter in January, V.V. Lakshmi Narayana, deputy inspector general of India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), told Reuters on Thursday.

Shares in Mahindra Satyam fell to a 4-month low on Thursday before recovering.

The Mint newspaper said a designated CBI court had scheduled the hearing on framing of charges against Raju and nine others accused in the case on Dec 9. It also extended judicial custody of all the accused in the case to the same date, the paper said.