Feb. 4: The interrogation of Mr B. Ramalinga Raju by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), which began on Wednesday, wou-ld have come as quite a change for the man who had it easy with CID officials.
Unlike at the CID questioning, where officials were not allowed to carry a pen and paper, where Mr Raju’s counsel were present throughout, and where questioning was restricted to an hour a day, Sebi officials proved to be tougher.
Mr Raju was grilled by a five-member team from the Sebi, led by Mr Sunil Kumar. Mr Raju’s counsel, Mr S. Bharat Kumar, was not allowed into the room. The questioning was primarily about alleged insider trading, sources said.
Sources said Mr Raju was mostly quizzed about transaction of Satyam shares in the last six months. It is learnt that Mr Raju answered most questions in the negative.
Jail officials said they provided a room with a table and few chairs for the exercise. According to sources, he was quizzed at the jail superintendent’s office. The questioning session began at 10.30 am and went on till evening with a one-hour lunch break thrown in.
Outside the jail, Mr Raju’s counsel, Mr S. Bharat Kumar, said the Sebi team had turned down his request to provide Mr Raju some documents. He said Mr Raju did not have documents to answer Sebi’s questions. He said they would question the validity of statements recorded by Sebi. It is learnt that Mr Raju was briefed by his defence lawyers on Tuesday on answering Sebi’s questions.
It is learnt that Mr Raju’s brother, Mr B. Rama Raju, will be interrogated on Thursday. Elsewhere, the two Pricewaterhouse officials, Mr S. Gopalakrishnan and Mr T. Srinivas were handed over to police custody at 10.30 am on Wednesday. The custody period will end at 4 pm on Thursday.
Showing posts with label SEBI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SEBI. Show all posts
Thursday, February 5, 2009
SEBI grills Ramalinga Raju
HYDERABAD: Officials of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Wednesday interrogated the former chairman of Satyam Computers, B. Ramalinga Raju, for nearly five hours at the Chanchalguda Central Jail here.
SEBI general manager A. Sunil Kumar, who is the divisional chief for southern States, grilled Mr. Raju with the assistance of four officers.
The SEBI team walked into the jail at 9.45 a.m. and left only at 7 p.m. though the actual interrogation lasted only from 11.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a break for lunch.
Rama Raju not quizzed
Mr. Ramalinga Raju’s brother and former managing director Rama Raju was not quizzed. The SEBI has been permitted by the Supreme Court to examine the two for three days.
Officials of the market regulator did not permit Mr. Ramalinga Raju’s advocate S. Bharat Kumar to be present during the interrogation, though he entered the jail with the permission of Superintendent M. Chandrasekhar.
Later, talking to the media, Mr. Kumar took exception to the denial of legal assistance to the accused during the examination.
He held that the two accused were not in possession of records. Neither were they in a proper state of mind to depose.
He said the apex court issued ex-parte orders permitting their interrogation before these exceptions were brought to its notice.
To file petition
He said Mr. Raju’s counsel would file a petition in the Supreme Court seeking remedy.
The Crime Investigation Department picked up from the same jail suspended Price Waterhouse partners S. Gopalakrishnan and Talluri Srinivas for interrogation. They will be in its custody till Thursday afternoon.
The officials questioned the two on their job chart and whether they verified cash and bank balances of Satyam Computer Services periodically.
A senior officer told The Hindu that the focus of interrogation was on whether they properly vouched for the related party transactions under the Indian Companies Act.
Foreign remittances
Another important area of probe would be the inward foreign remittances made to the company on account of operations in 60 countries.
The role of auditors in verification of softex forms (proof of company’s turnover) submitted to the Software Technology Parks of India for claiming income-tax benefits would also come under scrutiny.
SEBI general manager A. Sunil Kumar, who is the divisional chief for southern States, grilled Mr. Raju with the assistance of four officers.
The SEBI team walked into the jail at 9.45 a.m. and left only at 7 p.m. though the actual interrogation lasted only from 11.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a break for lunch.
Rama Raju not quizzed
Mr. Ramalinga Raju’s brother and former managing director Rama Raju was not quizzed. The SEBI has been permitted by the Supreme Court to examine the two for three days.
Officials of the market regulator did not permit Mr. Ramalinga Raju’s advocate S. Bharat Kumar to be present during the interrogation, though he entered the jail with the permission of Superintendent M. Chandrasekhar.
Later, talking to the media, Mr. Kumar took exception to the denial of legal assistance to the accused during the examination.
He held that the two accused were not in possession of records. Neither were they in a proper state of mind to depose.
He said the apex court issued ex-parte orders permitting their interrogation before these exceptions were brought to its notice.
To file petition
He said Mr. Raju’s counsel would file a petition in the Supreme Court seeking remedy.
The Crime Investigation Department picked up from the same jail suspended Price Waterhouse partners S. Gopalakrishnan and Talluri Srinivas for interrogation. They will be in its custody till Thursday afternoon.
The officials questioned the two on their job chart and whether they verified cash and bank balances of Satyam Computer Services periodically.
A senior officer told The Hindu that the focus of interrogation was on whether they properly vouched for the related party transactions under the Indian Companies Act.
Foreign remittances
Another important area of probe would be the inward foreign remittances made to the company on account of operations in 60 countries.
The role of auditors in verification of softex forms (proof of company’s turnover) submitted to the Software Technology Parks of India for claiming income-tax benefits would also come under scrutiny.
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