By Ruma Dubey

A measly Rs.10.5 lakh fine and six months of imprisonment by SFIO on ‘Satyam’ Raju for committing the biggest accounting fraud of India, to the tune of Rs.7000 crore?!!!!

This is what probably emboldens more conmen like Ramalinga Raju to carry out any crime with complete impunity because they know, the law might have long hands but they do not have the vice grip to choke out life.

The Serious Frauds Investigation Office (SFIO) had filed a total of seven cases for violations in auditing process and Companies Act. Raju was acquitted in one case, regarding payment of dividends the rest six he was guilty - not providing a break-up of audit expenses, not providing information on payment of professional charges, not providing employment particulars of those who were paid over Rs.24 lakh annually, non-disclosure of dividend remittances, adjustment of entries in the balance sheet, and not attaching enclosures to the balance sheet.

It is six years since Ramalinga Raju of Satyam, in a bout of wanting to spill out the ‘satyam’, in a confession sort of a note, shocked the country with his admission to fraud.  He had said, “ It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten ”.

It was an open-and-shut case. With a self confession in hand about all the frauds committed, the question was only about how many years Raju could get incriminated for. Yet, Raju remains outside on bail. The Court, stated, “On the facts of the case and considering the totality of circumstances, including that the accused has undergone the actual sentence of two years and eight months, we deem it fit to release him on bail.” What the Court does not state is that of this period, Raju spent two years in a plush hospital after he complained of ‘chest pain’. And miraculously, a week before he was granted bail, he was hale and hearty.

Is that how it is for others? There are others in prison who would have committed much smaller crimes. It is crony capitalism at its best – the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a chargesheet , 3.6 years later. It stated that it’s chargesheet was ready but did not know which court to file it in and was waiting for clarification on the same from the Supreme Court.

The sick part about this whole thing is that Raju has turned around and denied his own self confessionary letter. In fact Raju went on to tell the Court in 2010 that he was not the author of that letter!

Satyam is the best representation of crony capitalism in India and it is not the only one and will not be the only one too. As long as authorities bow down to money and power, many more such Raju’s will come and go. Unless there is fear of the law, crimes will happen with complete gumption.

Remember Bernard Madoff? He had run this ponzi scheme and was the mastermind of the largest financial fraud in USA. His scam came to light on 10th Dec, 2008 and he was arrested on 11th Dec, the next day. And on June 29, 2009, Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison, the maximum allowed. Have we ever heard or seen such quick justice ever delivered in India?

Satyam means the truth. And Satyam Computers has defied the very name that it stood for. The way the Board of Directors and the promoters siphoned off funds under the pretext of providing capex for the other two group companies – Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties is nothing new and even today, is a very common occurrence. With no one getting punished or held culpable, the message being sent out is that Indian companies can openly flout rules of corporate governance and nothing will happen! Jai ho!

Well, our last hope is that CBI court is likely to pronounce its verdict on December 23 in the case related to accounting fraud at Satyam.  At least here, he gets what he truly deserves?

PS: the only good thing which happened is that Satyam Computers has got resurrected as Tech Mahindra and the new management is doing very well. This is a tremendous achievement of the new management and if there is one Satyam to sully the name of India Inc, there is another Tech Mahindra to compliment.