CBI files fresh charges against Raju, others

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has charged Satyam Computer founder Byrraju Ramalinga Raju, his brother Byrraju Rama Raju and eight others with siphoning off Rs430 crore from the IT firm through using fictitious customers.

In a supplementary chargesheet filed last month, CBI said Rama Raju spent Rs65.88 crore to create fake customers and produce invoices against them to inflate revenues of Satyam Computer Services Limited (SCSL) to the tune of Rs430 crore.

"Adequate evidence has come on record to prove that the accused Rama Raju, SCSL employees G Ramakrishna, D Venkatpathy Raju and Srisailam have dishonestly and fraudulently conspired together to create seven fake customers in 2006 and got forged and fabricated invoices raised in the name of those customers to the tune of Rs430 crore in order to inflate the revenues of SCSL to that extent," the chargesheet said.

CBI said the accused created fake email IDs and sent mails on behalf of the seven customers to various SCSL associates urging them to continue development of the products, in order to prove the bona fides of the deal.

The ministry of corporate affairs, meanwhile, is working on ways to convert a section of unlisted public companies into widely held companies to ensure larger public accountability.

Disclosing this on the sidelines of a FICCI meet on corporate social responsibility (CSR), R Bandopadhyay, secretary, ministry of corporate affairs, said only around 5,000 of the 80,000 public companies are listed on the exchanges. "We would like to list more companies and increase the investor base. In fact, there are over 7 lakh active companies in India".

The ministry of corporate affairs will come up with broad voluntary guidelines on CSR after a week, Bandopadhyay said.