Satyam - bank statements disappear

The skeletons just won’t stop tumbling out of Satyam’s cupboard. It now turns out that B Ramalinga Raju and his associates may have spirited away bank statements of the company that hold clues to the massive fraud perpetrated by them.

The Hyderabad office of Registrar of Companies did not find the statements at any of the three Satyam offices in and around the city raided in the morning. The offices have since been sealed.

Companies have to keep bank statements for the current and preceding years at registered offices. It is suspected that the files vanished as they would have given away the fraud, rendering Raju and his accomplices liable for immediate penal action.

The ROC is likely to recommend a comprehensive investigation by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), which may be accepted as early as next week. There is already enough evidence to make a foolproof case for an SFIO probe, sources in the corporate affairs ministry said.

Investigators have already found enough evidence to make a foolproof case for an SFIO probe, sources in the corporate affairs ministry said. The Registrar of Companies (ROC), in its report, is also likely to point out that the company violated the requirement under the rules to keep the statutory documents at the headquarters.
As the investigation against Satyam gathers momentum, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has initiated disciplinary proceedings against the company’s auditor, PriceWaterhouse.

Sources said the SFIO team would be multi-disciplinary, drawn from Sebi, RBI, CBI, police, customs, revenue intelligence, besides forensic and banking experts.