CBI probe ordered into Satyam scam

Rajeev Deshpande | TNN

New Delhi: A CBI probe into the Satyam mega corporate fraud has been ordered with the Centre clearing a formal request from the Andhra Pradesh government received over the weekend. The decision was taken after the CBI agreed to accept the case. The agency is expected to form a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the scam.
    The relevant file was cleared on Monday raising hopes that the probe into the fraud may proceed in a more transparent manner given the obstacles faced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in even questioning Satyam's founder Ramalinga Raju, his brother Suryanarayana Raju and chief financial officer S Vadlamani who are currently in judicial custody.
    The state government's decision to recommend a CBI probe comes a good five weeks after Raju confessed he had been cooking up accounts and is seen as part of chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's efforts to shield himself from the political fallout of the scam with the opposition TDP alleging Satyam's links with the Congress.
    Given that multiple agencies—AP police, Sebi and the serious fraud investigations office—were investigating Satyam, the Centre feels that the CBI will have to pool expertise and set up an SIT to probe the scam.
    Faced with allegations that Satyam was given "sweet deals'' in infrastructure projects, Reddy wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh more than a week ago expressing his readiness for a CBI probe, an offer that seemed to have been made on the nudging of the party leadership.