Satyam scam probe handed over to CBI

Almost two months after the multi-crore Satyam scam came to light, the central government handed over investigations to the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI), although other agencies will continue their probes.

Several quarters were demanding that the multi-billion scam be handed over to the agency as it has the know-how and experience.

“We received a letter from the Andhra Pradesh chief minister. After studying it, we forwarded it to the CBI to start investigations. It is a go from our side,” said PC Gupta, Union corporate affairs minister.

The minister added that the CBI would start a fresh investigation into the matter.
“The CBI has been told to minutely look into the criminal nexus that made it possible to carry out such a huge scam,” added Gupta.       

Agency sources said that they had not received the letter from the Andhra Pradesh chief minister as the file is with the Department of Personnel and Training and they would receive the go-ahead within a few days.

“There is no formal go-ahead for us. But it is true the agency has been roped in and we have been given charge of the case,” a senior CBI official said.   

The Andhra Pradesh police had arrested Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju on January 9, two days after he confessed to the country’s biggest corporate scam. The local police had also arrested his brother Rama Raju, the then managing director, and Vadlamani Srinivas, the chief financial officer.

In the course of investigations, the police arrested PriceWaterhouse’s S Gopalakrishnan and Srinivas Talluri, involved in auditing accounts of the software company from 2000.