Bank funds do not exist: SFIO

Udumula Sudhakar Reddy
24th jan 2009
I Officials are trying to locate where Rs 1,733 crore disappeared I The team began its probe into the scam on the basis of Reg- istrar of Com- panies report
The Serious Fraud Investigation Office has found that the New York branch of the Bank of Baroda did not have the Rs 1,733 crore shown in the records of Satyam Computer Services.
SFIO officials are now trying to find out where the money went. In a petition filed before the sixth additional chief metropolitan magistrate court on Friday, the SFIO said that the bank statement showed that the alleged ‘trial balance’ in current account number 00120559 was non-existent.
Trial balance is the final balance of each account after all expenditure has been calculated.
According to the SFIO, the ex-Satyam chairman, Mr B. Ramalinga Raju and his brother, Mr B. Rama Raju, were the key decision makers for utilisation of such funds. Hence it was neces sary to record their statements.
The SFIO asked the court to give permission to record the statement of the accused in six days as per section 240(2) of the Companies Act 1956.
However, the court refused to entertain the SFIO’s petition seeking permission to interrogate the Raju brothers and the former chief financial officer, Mr Vadlamnai Srinivas, and asked the agency to come back with the relevant sections.
The SFIO said it began the investigation into the Satyam scam on the basis of report submitted by the Registrar of Companies.
“Financial statements, statutory returns and other records of Satyam prima facie appear to contain serious misstatements,” it said in the petition. “An attempt was made to utilise the stated cash reserves of the company to acquire controlling interest in two other companies owned and controlled by persons closely related to the promoter director.”