Published January 8, 2009

Satyam boss confesses to cooking the books

Ramalinga Raju quits after dropping bombshell that rocks Bombay stock market

By AMIT ROY CHOUDHURY

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(SINGAPORE) In a stunning development, the founder- chairman of Satyam Computer Services, a superstar in Indian IT services, has resigned after admitting that he falsified accounts and assets.

'It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten.' - Ramalinga Raju describing his deception in his letter to Satyam's board of directors

The confession yesterday by Ramalinga Raju sent the shares of the Indian software services provider crashing by 78 per cent. The benchmark Sensex index on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) tumbled 7.3 per cent as the iconic Indian company was brought low.

In a final attempt to plug 50.4 billion rupees (S$1.5 billion) of 'fictitious assets' in the balance sheet, Mr Raju, 54, said he had tried unsuccessfully to sell two companies to Satyam last month.

Profits from the main business have been inflated 'over a period of the last several years', Mr Raju said in his letter to the board, copies of which were also sent to the stock exchanges and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which is India's stockmarket regulator.

Satyam has a major presence in Singapore, which is its headquarters for a region that encompasses all its locations outside North America and Europe. Even the domestic Indian market is controlled out of Singapore.

Among its clients in Singapore are several leading statutory boards and government departments as well as publicly listed and private MNC companies having operations in Singapore.

Satyam (which means 'truth' in Sanskrit) came to Singapore in 2000. Apart from being its Asia Pacific, Middle East, India and Africa region (MEIA) headquarters, Singapore is home to Satyam's only global business continuity and disaster recovery centres outside India. The company has around 400 employees here.

The company also operates a global innovation hub at its Singapore facility in Changi where it conducts R&D with technology partners focusing on mobile applications and business processes in telecom, banking and supply-chain management.

In his letter, Mr Raju said the company's balance sheet as at Sept 30, 2008 carried inflated (non-existent) cash and bank balances of 50.4 billion rupees against 53.61 billion reflected in the books. There was also an accrued interest of 3.76 billion rupees which is non-existent.

For the September quarter (the company's second quarter), the company reported revenue of 27 billion rupees against actual revenue of 21.12 billion rupees. As a result, the operating margin was actually 3 per cent of revenue (610 million rupees), against the reported 24 per cent of revenue (6.49 billion rupees), he said.

This has resulted in artificial cash and bank balances going up by 5.88 billion rupees in the second quarter alone.

Profits from the main business have also been inflated over a period of the last several years. The sham started to unravel after shareholders vetoed the sale of two construction companies, four directors quit the company and the World Bank barred Satyam from bidding for contracts.

Indian market regulator SEBI described the Satyam revelation as an event of 'horrifying magnitude'. It said it would take all steps under the law and that it has started discussions with the government and the country's stock exchanges.

The market regulator said that it was 'most surprising' that cash balance that was non-existent got certified. The case also raises the issue of 'authenticity of accounts' that have been audited. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is Satyam's auditors.

A Reuters report quoted India's company affairs minister as saying that anybody found guilty will be dealt with accordingly.

Indian media reports said that immediately following the news, DSP Merrill Lynch had terminated its engagement with the company.

In another setback, the company is likely to be stripped of its coveted Golden Peacock Award for corporate governance that it won last year.

In a statement to the Singapore media, Virender Aggarwal, the company's senior VP and director in charge of the Asia Pacific- MEIA region, said Satyam as an organisation remains committed to its customers in the Asia Pacific.

'Singapore, with over 400 Satyam associates (employees), is not only an important market for Satyam but also serves as its regional headquarters and a critical pillar of its global delivery model,' Mr Aggarwal said.

In an interview with BT last year, Mr Aggarwal had noted that in the second quarter which Mr Raju mentioned in his letter, the Asia Pacific-MEIA region contributed 17.37 per cent of Satyam's global revenues.

He added that the Asean region grew 30 per cent year-on-year, led by Singapore.