| Posted on: 2012-02-14/02:11:12 | India - Fraud & Cyber Crime News | Others/ |
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India's accounting body has barred a former finance chief at Satyam Computer Services Ltd. (500376.BY) and an ex-auditor from practising for life for their role in the accounting scam at the software company, a top official said Tuesday. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India also imposed a fine of INR50 million each on former Satyam finance chief V. Srinivas and former Price Waterhouse India auditor Srinivas Talluri, Subodh Kumar Agarwal, secretary at the institute, told Dow Jones Newswires. The two persons will also be disallowed from being a member of the accounting body, Agarwal said. The two were being probed for their roles in the 2009 scandal when Satyam founder B. Ramalinga Raju confessed that he overstated the company's profits for several years and created a fictitious cash balance of more than $1 billion. While Srinivas was the finance head during the period, Price Waterhouse India-- the Indian affiliate of PricewaterhouseCoopers--was Satyam's auditor from the quarter ended June 30, 2000, until September 2008. PW India had subsequently said its accounts shouldn't be relied upon. Both lost their jobs and were subsequently arrested, but are out on bail now. They are facing trial on charges of fraud but have denied any wrongdoing. They couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday. Agarwal said that the accounts body will decide "any day" on the role of another former PW India auditor, S. Gopalakrishnan, and Satyam's former internal auditor, V. Prabhakar Gupta, on their roles in the scandal. Both are also currently out on bail, but couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday. After the scandal broke, Tech Mahindra Ltd. (532755.BY), the software unit of Indian manufacturing conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., took control of Satyam in April 2009 after winning a government-led auction. |
| Source: E N | Location : Delhi |
