‘Satyam scam won’t affect Indian IT sector’

NEW DELHI - The Satyam Computer Services scam is ‘just a case in isolation’ and it would not affect the image of India’s IT industry, a Singapore diplomat said here Tuesday.

‘What happened to Satyam came as a surprise and shock, but we are pleased at the speed of the Indian government that has replaced the board with very credible and highly respected individuals,’ Tommy Koh, ambassador-at-large at Singapore’s ministry of foreign affairs, said.

The Rs.70-billion (Rs.7,000-crore) accounting fraud shows the ‘lack of integrity of two individuals and perhaps the auditors. We shouldn’t therefore punish the rest of thousands of excellent individuals there,’ he said.

Satyam founder B. Ramalinga Raju, his brother B. Rama Raju, former chief financial officer Vadlmani Srinivas and two former auditors from auding firm Pricewaterhouse are now in jail in connection with the scam, arguably the largest one in India’s corporate history.

‘We have been assured that the quality of services of Stayam will not be impaired,’ Koh said.

‘You can change misfortune into fortune if you do it well. India must show it to the world that it can face up to such crisis,’ he added.