Regulator grills Satyam’s former finance chief in jail

HYDERABAD - Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Wednesday grilled Satyam Computer’s former chief financial officer Vadlamani Srinivas in Chanchalguda central jail here.

A SEBI team reached the jail and began interrogating him soon after a city court allowed the market watchdog to question Vadlamani and two former auditors of Pricewaterhouse in connection with the Rs.70-billion accounting fraud at the IT services firm.

Pronouncing the orders on the SEBI petition seeking permission to quiz the three accused, sixth additional chief metropolitan magistrate D. Ramakrishna directed the regulator to complete the process over the next two days.

The magistrate asked SEBI to interrogate Vadlamani Wednesday and the two former auditors Thursday.

Earlier, on the direction of the Supreme Court, the market regulator interrogated and recorded the statements of the company’s disgraced founder and former chairman B. Ramalinga Raju and his brother Rama Raju for three days from Feb 4.

SEBI had last week moved the city court for permission to question the three other accused: Vadlamani and former auditors of PwC S. Gopalakrishnan and Talluri Srinivas. The three had allegedly colluded with the Raju brothers to fudge the accounts.

The court is also expected to rule Wednesday evening on the plea of income-tax department to question Ramalinga Raju for three days and also on the fresh bail petitions of the Raju brothers and Vadlamani.