New Delhi:
As a battery of lawyers prepare Satyam's former CEO Ramalinga Raju's defence, one big question that is now being asked is - could the number of agencies probing one scam turn out to be the real problem?
The government did act swiftly to get cracking on the Satyam puzzle, but even after the appointment of a new board of directors and arrest of its promoters, it is unclear which arm of the government will finally be responsible for putting the culprits behind bars and taking the investigation to its logical end.
",There has always been a turf war because it comes under min of corporate affairs and also under SEBI and hence the Finance Ministry. So duality has always been there,", said C M Vasudev, former economic affairs secretary.
Let us take a look at the pieces of puzzle coming together.
SEBI will look into insider trading and the possibility of revamping clause 49 of the listing agreement.
The serious frauds investigation office will now look at Satyam's books but only after the registrar of companies conducted a preliminary investigation.
Meanwhile, the RBI will look into possible collusion by banks and the Andhra Pradesh Police will conduct the criminal investigation.
And apart from these, the ICAI is looking at the auditor's role.
Compare that to the United States where empowered by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the SEC alone looks at corporate reporting, insider trading and misrepresentations.
There is little wonder then that those involved in scams like GTB and Modi Xerox got away, while CEOs of Tycom, Worldomm and Tyco were all convicted.
Finance Ministry sources have told NDTV that SFIO is expected to lead the charge and all agencies will report to it, but experts say an integrated agency is a better option and even then, the real issue is the power to punish.
",Auditor who fails, the penalty is Rs 10000 under Companies Act. Give SFIO more teeth. We need to get a white collar crime penalties to rise,", said Vinod Dhall, former secretary, company affairs.
The government's multiple arms could actually be trying to solve the same puzzle without having all the pieces and this can lead to more confusion.
Clearly a multi-layered scam like Satyam's requires close coordination between different government departments and it is in such cases that the need for a single investigating agency becomes imperative.
As a battery of lawyers prepare Satyam's former CEO Ramalinga Raju's defence, one big question that is now being asked is - could the number of agencies probing one scam turn out to be the real problem?
The government did act swiftly to get cracking on the Satyam puzzle, but even after the appointment of a new board of directors and arrest of its promoters, it is unclear which arm of the government will finally be responsible for putting the culprits behind bars and taking the investigation to its logical end.
",There has always been a turf war because it comes under min of corporate affairs and also under SEBI and hence the Finance Ministry. So duality has always been there,", said C M Vasudev, former economic affairs secretary.
Let us take a look at the pieces of puzzle coming together.
SEBI will look into insider trading and the possibility of revamping clause 49 of the listing agreement.
The serious frauds investigation office will now look at Satyam's books but only after the registrar of companies conducted a preliminary investigation.
Meanwhile, the RBI will look into possible collusion by banks and the Andhra Pradesh Police will conduct the criminal investigation.
And apart from these, the ICAI is looking at the auditor's role.
Compare that to the United States where empowered by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the SEC alone looks at corporate reporting, insider trading and misrepresentations.
There is little wonder then that those involved in scams like GTB and Modi Xerox got away, while CEOs of Tycom, Worldomm and Tyco were all convicted.
Finance Ministry sources have told NDTV that SFIO is expected to lead the charge and all agencies will report to it, but experts say an integrated agency is a better option and even then, the real issue is the power to punish.
",Auditor who fails, the penalty is Rs 10000 under Companies Act. Give SFIO more teeth. We need to get a white collar crime penalties to rise,", said Vinod Dhall, former secretary, company affairs.
The government's multiple arms could actually be trying to solve the same puzzle without having all the pieces and this can lead to more confusion.
Clearly a multi-layered scam like Satyam's requires close coordination between different government departments and it is in such cases that the need for a single investigating agency becomes imperative.
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