Post-Satyam, regulator calls for better corporate governance

September 15th, 2009 KOLKATA - The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is yet to give its final report on the multi-crore accounting fraud in Satyam Computers, Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said here Tuesday. "The ED and the US Internal Revenue Services (IRS) are looking basically at the compensation angle of the fraud.

September 4th, 2009 KOLKATA - Minister for Corporate Affairs Salman Khurshid will inaugurate an International Conference on Convergence of Corporate Governance Norms here on Saturday. The two-day Conference is being organized by IIT Kharagpur in association with National Foundation of Corporate Governance (NFCG) - which is a not-for-profit Trust under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

August 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid Monday said prima facie some evidence indicated that funds had been transferred from Maytas Infra to scam-tainted Satyam Computers, now Mahindra Satyam. "When the accounts are stated, this will become clear as to where the money has gone," said Khurshid while briefing reporters on a new Company Law Board (CLB) order regarding Maytas Infra.

August 23rd, 2009 HYDERABAD - India has a huge potential to involve retail investors in the stock markets but they are not coming out to invest because they have learnt a lesson from the Satyam Computer fraud, feels Madhav Mehra, president of the London-based World Council for Corporate Governance. "The stock market participation of Indians is barely two percent while in the US it is 45 percent," Mehra told IANS during a visit here.

August 21st, 2009 HYDERABAD - Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed Friday said the government would set up an "early warning system" to pre-empt corporate fraud like that committed by the promoters of Satyam Computers, now Mahindra Satyam. "Experts are working on a mechanism to detect if something has gone wrong and take remedial measures," Khursheed told reporters on the sidelines of a national conference on corporate governance, but declined to elaborate.

August 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Engineering and construction major Larsen and Toubro Wednesday said it would wait for an opportune time to sell its holding in Satyam Mahindra, formerly Satyam Computer Services, even if the markets regulator waives the lock-in period on the shares. The lock-in period had been fixed because of a competitive bidding process for a controlling stake in the scam-hit IT major.

July 10th, 2009 MUMBAI - Mahindra Satyam, formerly Satyam Computer Services, Friday said it has allotted 198.6 million shares to Venturebay Consultants, a Tech Mahindra arm. After this allotment, Tech Mahindra will hold about 43 percent in the company.

June 21st, 2009 HYDERABAD - Two months after taking over scam-tainted Satyam Computer Services, Tech Mahindra Sunday renamed the IT major as Mahindra Satyam. The logo will be adopted from the Mahindra Group.

June 21st, 2009 HYDERABAD - Satyam Computer Services has been renamed as Mahindra Satyam, while the logo will be adopted from the Mahindra Group. Tech Mahindra had bought it in April, The decision was taken at a closed-door meeting attended by top executives of Tech Mahindra in Hyderabad.

May 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Satyam fraud case is top priority of the government, and the investigating agency, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), has been asked to put the prosecution on fast track, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs (independent charge) Salman Khurshid said here Friday. "The case is required to be put on the fast track so that the guilty can be punished quickly," Khurshid said after taking charge.

April 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Company Law Board Thursday approved the strategic sale of Satyam Computer Services to Tech Mahindra, and directed the consideration of Rs.1,756 crore (Rs.17.56 billion/$351 million) for a 31-percent stake be submitted by April 21. Tech Mahindra, which is acquiring Satyam through its subsidiary Venturbay, has also been allowed to make an open offer for another 20 percent stake at Rs.58 per share in India's fourth largest software exporting company.

April 13th, 2009 MUMBAI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday said he was glad at the successful outcome of the auction to sell controlling stake in Satyam Computer Services and hoped scams like that perpetrated on the company would not recur. Reacting to Tech Mahindra winning the bid for a controlling stake in the scam-hit firm, the prime minister, here for election campaigning, told reporters that the government and the regulators were quick in their response when the financial fraud came to light.

January 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Commerce Minister Kamal Nath continued to maintain that the Rs.70 billion fraud at Satyam Computer Services was a 'one-off delinquency', though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called it a 'blot' on India's corporate image. 'One cannot smear the Indian corporate sector.

January 16th, 2009 MUMBAI - The Rs.70 billion ($1.43 billion) financial scam in Satyam Computer Services is a 'blot' on corporate India's image, and the government was determined to unravel the 'plot' and punish the guilty, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Saturday. He urged all Indian corporate leaders to look closely into their operations so that fraudulent activities were as effectively prevented as is humanly possible.

January 16th, 2009 KOLKATA - The Rs.70 billion (Rs.7,000-crore/$1.43 billion) Satyam Computer Services scam is an 'isolated' case in the corporate sector of India, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here Saturday. 'The Satyam scam has undoubtedly impacted our securities market.