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Raju had opened multiple benami accounts: Income Tax dept probe

While Ramalinga Raju’s letter might have opened a Pandora’s Box into the workings of Satyam Computers, NDTV learns that the Income Tax Department was on its heels from early 2002.

The Income Tax Department from Hyderabad had conducted search operations across several offices of Satyam in 2002 and found that Raju had opened multiple benami accounts through relatives and friends.

Fixed deposits to the tune of Rs 29.5 crore were found in those accounts. The funds were frequently used for trading in Satyam shares, flouting the insider-trading norms.

Meanwhile, the country’s largest bank State Bank of India has exclusively revealed to NDTV that the bank has an outstanding exposure of nearly Rs 500 crore to Maytas Infrastructure - an exposure, which they may be forced to classify as non-performing.

While other leading banks have so far declined to outline their individual exposures, there is no doubt that the Indian banking sector will not remain untouched by the country’s largest corporate fraud.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009, (New Delhi) .
Source / courtesy: NDTV