This Article is From Apr 09, 2009

US authorities in India to probe Satyam scam

Hyderabad: A high-level delegation from the US, Securities and Exchange Commission, is in India to meet capital market regulator SEBI and Satyam board in the next two days to gather information on the Satyam scandal.

After the confession of B Ramalinga Raju, US investors have filed over a dozen lawsuits against the company in various US courts. Satyam Computers is also listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, stock watchdog SEBI is now grilling disgraced former head of Satyam Ramalinga Raju. After several failed attempts, SEBI is finally getting to question Raju on how he pulled off the biggest fraud in India's corporate history.

The Supreme Court gave permission to SEBI on Tuesday. Sunil Kumar, General Secretary of SEBI has been appointed the investigating authority.

SEBI has been allowed to question the Raju brothers over three days starting on Wednesday.

Yesterday, a bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan directed the Superintendent of Chanchalguda central prison to allow SEBI's investigating officer Sunil Kumar to question the Raju brothers.

SEBI had since January 8, the day after Ramalinga Raju disclosed a Rs 7,800 crore fraud in Satyam, been trying to quiz the two brothers. But the Rajus were arrested by the state CID police on January 9 and since became inaccessible.

The regulator then approached a local court for permission to interrogate the Rajus, but the plea was rejected on technical grounds.

When hearing of its appeal in the Andhra Pradesh High Court was repeatedly deferred, SEBI moved the apex court for ",urgent relief.",
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