PwC suspends Satyam-tainted auditors
28 Jan 2009
PricewaterhouseCoopers has suspended two of its auditors - S Gopalakrishnan and Srinivas Talluri - who were arrested by the Andhra Pradesh police last week in connection with the Satyam Computer Services scam. The company on Tuesday said it had suspended them as partners till the completion of the government investigations.
Pricewaterhouse said the two would not be involved in any activity for the firm. ''While they are suspended, neither partner will play any part in client matters,'' the firm said. "They will undertake no activities on behalf of Pricewaterhouse and have been advised to cooperate fully with the ongoing inquiries regarding Satyam. As the investigations proceed, Pricewaterhouse will continue to evaluate the situation," it further said.
In a related development, Thomas Mathew, the firm's assurance leader, also decided to step down from his position. An assurance leader oversees a firm's audit practice, policies and procedures, and growth and quality control.
The firm said, ''Mathew had no connection with the audit of Satyam. In light of the present situation, however, he believes it would be appropriate for him to relinquish his management position. However, Mathew will remain a PwC partner." It added that a new assurance leader would be appointed in the near future.
SEBI to appeal
Meanwhile, minister for corporate affairs Prem Chand Gupta said on Wednesday that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) would appeal against the decision of a local Hyderabad court which had denied a day's custody of Raju and his brother Rama Raju to the regulator. "There were certain technical issues with SEBI's application. Now they would appeal to the court again," Gupta said.
SEBI, which is probing charges of insider trading in the Satyam case, had sought a day's custody of Ramalinga Raju and Rama Raju, who are currently in judicial custody. The regulator's petition was, however, turned down on January 23. Gupta said, "SEBI is very active and so is the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and the Registrar of Companies (RoC)."