CBI to file an additional chargesheet in Satyam case

The CBI will soon file an additional chargesheet against B Ramalinga Raju, former chairman of Satyam Computers, in the multi-crore accounting scam that rocked the nation early this year.

"Siphoning of money, parking it elsewhere or tracing it into other assets, lot of that has little to do with criminal culpability of the kind that is already being put in the chargesheet of the CBI and they perhaps require an additional chargesheet for which the permission has been granted," Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told reporters.

The Minister said the chargesheet was needed to know if and where the money was siphoned off to, whether it can be traced to other properties, whether it is violation of tax laws or violation of foreign exchange laws.

"The Enforcement Directorate and internal revenue are pursuing this and as and when they have come to conclusions they will file their respective chargesheets," he said. Official sources said the Mutli-Disciplinary Team is also probing other charges of serious violations of foreign exchange and securities laws and the CBI is likely to file a secondary chargesheet in the case other than criminal culpability on the former Chairman in the scam.

The agency, on April 7, had filed a chargesheet against Former Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju and eight others under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code for cheating and forgery. Khurshid said a team led by the Solicitor General of India is coordinating into the matter to ensure swift justice. The CBI has also sought permission to investigate the overseas fundings of the scam-tainted computer firm. The CBI had submitted 1,532 original documents of bank transactions and 65,000 pages of other documents, which included the statements of 432 witnesses in the case along with the chargesheet.

The USSEC (United States Securities Exchange Commission) team had come to India following filing of over a dozen class action lawsuits in the US against the promoters and managers of the IT firm on behalf of investors, who purchased American Depository Receipts of the company between January 6, 2004, (the listing date in the US) and January 6, 2009 (the day before Raju's letter). The Satyam fraud, running into around Rs 9,000-crore, came to light in January this year after Raju disclosed that he had falsified profits for years and created fictitious assets. The company has been sold to Tech Mahindra and rechristened as Mahindra Satyam.