Corporate Scandal: Is This India’s Enron?
BY KAREN RUSSO, ABC News New Delhi NEW DELHI – It’s being called “India’s Enron.” Satyam chairman Ramalinga Raju’s shocking admission Wednesday of falsifying statements about his company’s billion-dollar business has momentarily pushed aside the Mumbai attacks for India’s top news story. Satyam is India’s fourth largest technology company with 53,000 employees. It has 49 offices around the world, including eight in the United States, and it services many of the Fortune 500 companies. Raju admitted to cooking the books, including a false cash balance of more than $1 billion. He faces arrest and possibly jail time of seven to 10 years. The Securities and Exchange Board of India tells ABC News that it has already begun to investigate Satyam’s financial records. Two American law firms — Izard Nobel LLP and Vianale & Vianale LLP — have filed class action lawsuits against Satyam Computer on behalf of shareholders of the software services firm’s American Depository Receipts, according to NDTV. Today’s Times of India reported that “amid mounting speculation over his whereabouts, Satyam management has said that it has no idea where Raju is.” The newspaper suggested the chairman had fled to the United States, but Raju’s lawyer said the chairman is in Hyderabad. Along with founding Satyam, Raju is known for his philanthropy and commitment to helping India’s rural poor. He created India’s first emergency response system, similar to that of 911 in the United States. He reportedly donated more than $50 million of his own money to create the program. The Hindustan Times reports that Rajasekhara Reddy, the chief minister in the state of Andhra Pradesh where Satyam is based, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Reddy suggested a group of businessmen should manage the company. "Our major and immediate concern is about the fate of 53,000 employees of the company. I have no doubt in my mind that the law will take its own course but as majority of the clients or customers of Satyam are Fortune 500 companies, they may be averse to do business with companies having fraudulent managements," Reddy said in his letter to the prime minister, according to the Hindustan Times. The Securities and Exchange Board of India said that it is working with the American Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the company. Read more blogs by Karen Russo Read more blogs by ABC News Staff
Email



RSS
Twitter
Facebook
This fraud is the tip of the iceberg. They have all been up to it. Just sratch the surface of the other IT companies and outsourcing companies. Fantasy and ferry land only lasts so long. Bad quality staff, services, poor management and low moral ethics eventually are disclosed. Corporate america and europe whom have relied on the lieing and untrustworthy indians will now start paying the price for there reckless and negligent behaviour. Any company whom has outsourced to a country whom can’t look after 1 billion of it’s own citizens and provide the basic daily essentials to them, deserve the fallout that is about to happen from an industry run by crooks. Wake up corporate world, or should we just accept all large companies are run by crooks.
Posted by: brett marsh | January 8, 2009, 3:47 am 3:47 am
Hi: This comment is very generalized and picture all Indians. Because of Enron we cannot say all Americans are not trust worthy. Because of collapse & Greed of the once lead banks – we cannot say all Americans are not trustworthy. I am not a Satyam employee or fan – But, do not make general coments. Imagine the plight of families of thousands of stake holders like investors & employees who got caught for no falut of theirs. Regards,
Rama
Posted by: Rama | January 8, 2009, 5:25 am 5:25 am
Because of one fraud you cant say all the the Indians are untrustworthy. Do not blame on whole country for deeds of a one company or person. Please look how many fingers are pointing to you when you point one finger on whole of India.
Thank you
Posted by: Piyush | January 8, 2009, 5:50 am 5:50 am
Brett Marsh, you are an ignorant and completely clueless person. Thank god other Americans aren’t like you.
Posted by: Jerry | January 8, 2009, 6:55 am 6:55 am
The Tech companies from India have more that they have lied about. They have been under bidding for jobs in the USA, claiming that their workers are just as good as the American workers. But too often the companies, have had to turn around and hire American high tech workers on a temporary baises to repair and correct the mistakes by the Indian high tech workers, many of whom do not have the education and skills, and experience, and knowlege that their American high tech counter parts have to have before they are even considered for the jobs.
Where is the outcry about that?
Posted by: Angel | January 8, 2009, 8:57 am 8:57 am
I’m confused by this report.
the report says Mr Raju the Chairman of Satyam has fled to US. Why would he do that…The judicial system in US renders justice very quick as compared to India and the punishment in US is 23 Yrs in US jails as compared to max 10 Yrs(Likely 7) in India…
Unless Mr Raju is suicidal which I’m sure he is not..
Posted by: confused | January 8, 2009, 9:00 am 9:00 am
Unchecked and unregulated capitalism leads to fraud. Whether it is Enron or Satyam. That is the truth (Satya). During the French revolution such Swindlers would be on the chopping block and now they just a slap on the wrist.
Posted by: gjkotw01 | January 8, 2009, 9:06 am 9:06 am
Brett Marsh…the comment you just made tells what kind of person you are and your thinking level. Get some rest buddy…
Think about how many scandals happened in US in last one year….just because Bernard Madoff is a US citizen, should we stop trusting all US Citizens….
Think before you post a comment next time..
Posted by: Jlook | January 8, 2009, 9:06 am 9:06 am
There are no enforced laws to regulate this sort of thing in India, because in India, bribing officials and making deals with corrupt businessmen and government officials is the rule of the day.
Honestly, while Brett Marsh’s comments brushed too broad of a stroke, he is absolutely right about this being the tip of the iceberg. When you live in a country where oversight is minimal, and corruption is the rule of the day, this sort of crime is far too easy and tempting to push aside.
Further, Indian CEO’s think of themselves as the cream of India’s crops, who are above the law and deserve special treatment from the Indian gov (which they get). These execs see themselves as being above the law, and now that this finding has come out, foreigners will be MUCH more careful about investing in India’s corrupt and falsified services industry.
Posted by: Jack | January 8, 2009, 9:51 am 9:51 am
Brett Marsh,
Come on, are you serious. Tip of the Iceberg…your on some serious case of denial about the US. Get over it…as a 4th gen. Irish American, you have got some serious issues. Look at the US Economy where we are today is because of greed in this country. I don’t see Madoff and all the other scammers in the country feeding the poor, ABC Is notorious for leaving it it open…..its not even close to how big ENRON was…this is a Billion dollars. 1 Billion…….700 TARP. 280 STIMULUS, 300 proposed tax cut, 1.2 proposed stimulus plan…all scams..Get some knowledge. and then post…
Posted by: Jason | January 8, 2009, 10:00 am 10:00 am
Mr. Raju will be fine as will his company. IBM is in the lead to pick up the pieces and Mr. Raju reportedly exercised his stock options worth about $950 million pounds. Now the stockholders, that’s another story. But there again, that’s the good old unregulated capitalism that Limbaugh and Hannity decry as savior to the world’s problem’s, as exhibited by recent performance of GM, Chrysler, Wamu, Lehman Brothers, DHL, Citicorp, AIG, etc. etc.., and Brett Marsh, you’re an idiot.
Posted by: devilkev | January 8, 2009, 10:15 am 10:15 am
If Brett’s right that all Indian’s are evil and untrustworthy due to this scandal, what does that make the average American ( like me ) after our country’s more-than-fair-share of scandals?
This is a problem that is NOT limited to any one ethnic group or country.
Posted by: Tim Peterson | January 8, 2009, 10:16 am 10:16 am
I heard Brett Marsh did it with an indian guy…but the indian left him for a bigger homo. Brett Marsh had his heart broken and his butt broken, and is mad at all indians now
Posted by: bobby | January 8, 2009, 10:49 am 10:49 am
To brett marsh and Angel. Your comments show unadulterated racism. To paint an entire subcontinent of people based on this one example shows how simple your minds really are.
Posted by: volker | January 8, 2009, 10:49 am 10:49 am
Brett Marsh and Angel..u and ur America suck..first go and change ur bloody America..then comment on other countries..these scandals are all over America..but wont cum out..it wil affect their image..all bloody black money..
u !@#$%^&*()..
Posted by: individual | January 8, 2009, 5:25 pm 5:25 pm
One bad apple will not make spoil everything. Outsourcing bashers must understand on how it benefited the US companies especially during these tough times. IT spending is one of the highest cost a company pays and this low cost has helped to a great extent. Moreover, any developing country had always benefited from the developed country ( As America did with Europe in Automobiles). Neither America or Europe is Poor?
Posted by: Madhan | January 8, 2009, 7:28 pm 7:28 pm
I agree with Bret and Angel. Those that call them racist don’t have a clue what they are talking about. The racism is AGAINST every non-Indian race in America and is inflicted by companies like Satyam that have but one mission — to scam Americans to advance their race. They profit at the expense and exclusion of non-Indians.
They’ve successfully managed to take over major industries in the U.S. — healthcare (doctors, billing, insurance), banking, accounting services, universities, franchises, gas stations, customer service and the list goes on. They achieved all of this by fraud.
It is common for Indian outsource companies to fake books, fake degrees, fake skills on resumes, fake attempts to hire Americans. Complicit in the Indian outsource scam are the big businesses desiring higher CEO pay while reducing worker pay (slave wages).
Indian outsourcers have now deflated wages (which didn’t work out well for Satyam!) so low that few Americans can afford healthcare, mortgages/homes, cars, retail merchandise, gas, food. Indian outsourcers are also eating the costs for providing bad services and contract violations due to fraud exposure.
There would not be such a hot market for cheap labor if Congress would reduce the number of H1B visas issued. The H1B visa is a legalized system for committing racism against every race that makes up the American melting pot. Satyam is number 4 on the list of top Indian outsourcers making use of the H1B visa system in the U.S.
Posted by: Common Sense | January 9, 2009, 1:50 am 1:50 am
Jason,
“Come on, are you serious. Tip of the Iceberg…your on some serious case of denial about the US. Get over it…as a 4th gen. Irish American, you have got some serious issues. Look at the US Economy where we are today is because of greed in this country.”
You can’t paint all Jews with the Madoff brush because there is no clear link to the methodology used by Madoff or the culture of Jews. That applies to most Americans regardless of ethnicity.
However, when it comes to the Indian outsource strategy, it is easy to see when you take off the blinders. Wake up! Google H1B and examine what’s going on.
Posted by: Common Sense | January 9, 2009, 1:56 am 1:56 am
Brett Marsh and Angel you are ass lickers, go and lick each others ass.
You white fat ass are good for nothing.
Posted by: Gyani | January 9, 2009, 5:15 am 5:15 am
The US is a state without any standards; their international policy is dubious and a day will come when they pay the price.
Posted by: Lee | January 9, 2009, 5:17 am 5:17 am
Angel, I think you are a sore loser and couldn’t get into IT, always envy of who are in IT and now you see this and feel happy because IT folks are being affected.
Posted by: Patrick | January 9, 2009, 5:27 am 5:27 am
Why would anyone in their right mind continue to send jobs to India when it is clear that there are major security and data integrity issues? Greed can only take this thing so far until the security of our data is compromised. It will cost more in the long run to fix the problems that are currently happening than to keep the jobs here in the first place. A good example of this problem is that many PC customers have abandoned brand loyalty due to the frustration in trying to bridge the communication gap in the customer service depts. (foreign help desks) in the PC market. Corporate America should use common sense and keep outsourcing to a minimum to ensure that they won’t need to use any disaster recovery which will cost them more in the long run. Also by keeping more jobs here in the U.S. many firms will see their customer base grow.
Posted by: grumpyoldmanintown | January 12, 2009, 5:32 am 5:32 am
why has indian govt so pro-actively tried to save a fraud company.. why is govt trying to save satyam by hook or crook when the whole world knows its a fraud and nothing to do with quality of indian IT services. 20 billion fund infusion from tax payers kitty… why is govt risking so much… of course the biggest advantage the indian govt has is that non of indian citizens have courage to raise voice against the govt… do read the url mentioned if you want to understand how your hard earned money is being mis-used by govt.
Posted by: hemmu | January 15, 2009, 9:48 am 9:48 am
What law did he break ?
Why do you think the audit firm did not check his bank balance ?
The first thing I learned when I went into business was the cost of the bank telling my accountant what my bank balance was every year.
There are NO laws and policing and he was only arrested at the behest of the industry being scared of the ramifications.
I actually LOVE the Inidan market to death as it has provided me with the most brilliant and lucrative source of income clearing up the C… work.
I actually think it is great that the Indians support systems and when they fix them even better…..Problem fix is usually DELETE anything until it may start working again.
Next stage is for someone manager in the company to tell you they have sacked the guy who did it. I get a contract and they suddenly start hanging round my desk and trying to find out how my fixing it. Whether you believe it or not I even had one guy trying to camcorder me so he could follow the key strokes, I started to play solitaire and he actually thought this was part of the solution.
If you want to know how bad the industry is try and obtain the KPMG report from years ago on the Inidan industry…..
Bye for now
Posted by: JT | January 15, 2009, 11:16 am 11:16 am
Read it and weep…. US money then they screw your JOBS Is Sue the only person in the US with a BRAIN
Thursday, January 15, 2009, 2:13pm EST
Myrick targets outsourcing for TARP companiesCharlotte Business Journal
U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) wants to prevent any company that receives federal bailout funds from outsourcing new customer-service or call-center jobs to a foreign-based company.
According to a press release from Myrick’s office, she is introducing an amendment that would bar such actions by companies that receive money under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
“If companies benefit from significant taxpayer funding, they should make every effort to hire American workers,” Myrick says in the release. “I am not aware of any companies that have received funds that have entered into new contracts with foreign-based customer service centers, but I do know that our constituents have a great deal of skepticism about the program and how their money has been spent.”
Posted by: JT | January 15, 2009, 11:19 am 11:19 am