CBI hints Satyam probe reaching deadend

Is the probe into an alleged fund diversion by the disgraced founder of Satyam Computer Services B Ramalinga Raju hitting a deadend?

That’s exactly what the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) seems to be hinting at by saying that there was no certainty on filing a fourth charge sheet in the multi-crore accounting scam in the then fourth largest IT company.

The CBI, which has been probing the accounting scam, has so far filed three charge sheets in the case. While two of them dealt with the account fudging by Raju with the assistance of nine others, the third charge sheet dealt with the income tax violations.

The CBI claimed that the alleged fund diversion by Raju from Satyam is would be filed in the fourth charge sheet. The premier investigating agency has been claiming that the details of the diversion would be known only after the details of some bank accounts abroad are studied and analysed. For this, the CBI had sent letters rogatory (LR) to six countries and has been waiting for the reply.

Updating the court on the issue, Surender, the CBI counsel on Monday said that there was no certainty in filing the fourth charge sheet. “Letters rogatory were sent to six countries seeking assistance to trace some accounts by the accused. We are awaiting their reply. Based on the reply we may file fourth charge sheet or may not,” the counsel said.

“Certain issues are hampering the process as the replies have to come from foreign countries,” the counsel said.

In fact, in the absence of a fourth charge sheet as promised by the CBI to the world at large, the case of the biggest ever corporate fraud would get minimised to a simple corporate fraud with the balance sheet fudging as the key allegation.

“There is no mention of fund diversion by the CBI so far in any of the charge sheets. If it is not filing the fourth charge sheet, it clearly means that the confession by Raju on January 7, 2009, is correct and there is nothing beyond that,” a source tracking the developments explained.

In fact, on hearing the CBI counsel’s suspicion on the issue of the fourth charge sheet, Raju’s counsel argued that there is no point in trying for making Raju attend the court either directly or through a video link unless the CBI makes it clear the status of the investigation.

“For the past several months the CBI claims that they would file fourth charge sheet. It is unfair to seek video linkage from NIMS (the hospital where Raju is put up now) to examine my client without confirming whether they would file fourth charge sheet or not,” Raju’s counsel argued.

After hearing both the sides, B V L N Chakravarthi, the additional
chief metropolitan magistrate, asked the counsel of Raju to clarify on Raju’s willingness to respond to a questionnaire containing the charges in case he is not in a position to attend the court physically due to his illness.

Similarly, the court has also asked the CBI to file a status report on the investigation and the issue of the fourth charge sheet.

The court has posted the matter to July 8 for further hearing.
In fact, the CBI bosses have been claiming that the investigation is still in progress and in fact is at a critical stage since the focus now is on tracing the funds that have allegedly been taken out by Raju off shore.

Raju, meanwhile, is still put up in the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) for getting his Hepatitis C related ailments treated.