The Hindu Business Line : Heat now turned on Price Waterhouse

Hyderabad, Jan. 13 With the key players in the Rs 7,136-crore financial fraud at Satyam Computer Services – the Raju brothers and the CFO, Mr V. Srinivas – in custody and statements in hand, the CID turned the heat on the role of the long-time auditors – Price Waterhouse – with thorough searches at their offices.

The investigating agency, which is coordinating with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the Registrar of Companies and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, undertook searches throughout the day for evidence and documents related to Satyam in all forms – electronic and paper – at Price Waterhouse’s main office in Hyderabad.

Auditor’s role

The role of the auditor has come for intense scrutiny from several quarters in the ‘fudging of the Satyam books’, which led the company into a deep financial mess, as admitted by Mr B. Ramalinga Raju, its former Chairman.

The focus of the investigation is now to get at the root cause for the current financial crisis, its genesis and the people involved, said a top police official.

Coordinated effort

Teams from RoC, SEBI and SFIO had met Mr V.S.K. Kaumudi, Inspector-General (Economic Offences Wing) of State CID, on Tuesday to seek CID support in their respective probes. Mr Kaumudi had assured them of help.

Ram Mynampati in US

Mr Ram Mynampati, the former whole-time director on Satyam and interim CEO, had left for the US on Sunday as part of the company’s effort to win back customer confidence.

Interestingly, the new board, which met for the first time on Monday at Satyam’s Info City campus here, had not met Mr Mynampati, but interacted through video.

“He is talking to our big customers there. He is in touch with the new board as he engaged in talks,” a Satyam spokesperson said. It was, however, not clear whether he had gone on the mandate of the new board.

I-T officials meet

Meanwhile, the officials of Central Board of Direct Taxes are holding a series of meetings to discuss the issues thrown open in the Satyam episode.

Refuting reports in the media that I-T sleuths had begun investigating the Satyam fraud for possible angles from the direct taxes front, sources said the top officials in the department are deliberating on various issues.

The Department would be the fifth Government agency to get onto the bandwagon of investigators.