Ghotala.in

UK Co in $1-bn legal battle with Satyam

LONDON: UK-based mobile services payment company Upaid which is fighting a $1-billion legal battle with Satyam, on Wednesday said it was watching
the developments at the scam-tainted software firm to decide its future course of action.

A Texas court which heard the case on Wednesday did not give a ruling on whether top officials at Satyam, including its former chairman B Ramalinga Raju, should make depositions in the court. As expected, and contrary to some speculation, none of the Satyam executives wapresent at the hearing. The firm was represented by its lawyers. “Yesterday, at the hearing, the judge made certain remarks which both sides have taken seriously . The judge did not issue a ruling, but after one or two intermediate steps, the current matter is likely to have a resolution in the near future, one way or the other,” said Simon Joyce, CEO of Upaid, the UK-based mobile services company.

The son of farmers leaves his village behind, moves up from textile mills to real estate to IT outsourcing for multinational firms. He emerges as one of India’s wealthiest and most famous entrepreneurs — until he reveals that his empire was floating on an accounting lie and it all comes crashing down.

“Raju has cheated me and millions of shareholders,” said Rajesh Shrivastava, 43, a businessman who owns 5,000 shares. “I still fail to believe that I have almost lost everything. The god of IT has failed me.”

“If you walk around Dalal Street, our equivalent of Wall Street, there’s surprise but not shock,” said Ramesh Damani, a member of the Bombay Stock Exchange.