SFIO to start prosecution in Satyam scam this month: Govt

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Reported by Sankalp Saini, edited by Vandana Hingorani/NewsWire18

The Serious Fraud Investigation Office will begin prosecution in the Satyam Computer Services fiasco this month, Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said. "The SFIO is in final stages (of investigation). During this month, it will begin prosecution," Khurshid told reporters.

In the largest corporate fraud in the country, Satyam founder B. Ramalinga Raju had resigned from the company in January after admitting to non-transparent financial practices and manipulating financial statements. In his statement to investigating agencies in January, Raju had confessed to manipulating the company's books for the past seven years. "SFIO is diligently and dutifully pursuing what it is supposed to," he said.

The SFIO, an arm of the corporate affairs ministry, had investigated the multi-billion-rupee Satyam accounting scandal and submitted its reports to the government. "SFIO will not let go off anything. It is a dutiful watchdog," Khurshid said. A government official told Newswire18 that the chargesheet in the case is also likely to be filed this month. According to reports, the investigating agency will initiate proceedings on about 30 charges, mostly under the Companies Act, 1956, while the Central Bureau of Investigation will be acting on five or six charges involving criminal offences under the penal code. Satyam Computer shares today closed at 107.05 rupees on the National Stock Exchange, down 2.7% from the previous close.  

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