No instance of Satyam-like fraud seen in any other company so far, says government

NEW DELHI: The government said that no instance of corporate fraud noticed in Satyam Computers case has come to light in any other company till date.

The Satyam Computers scandal surfaced in early 2009 after its founder B Ramalinga Raju admitted that the IT firm inflated its financial performance. Multiple agencies probed the scam, whose size was initially estimated at Rs 7,800 crore.

When asked whether the government has noticed 'Satyam Computers' like irregularities in any other corporate firm, Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot in a written reply to Lok Sabha said: "No instances of corporate fraud and malfeasance noticed in the case, has so far come into light."

In a separate query, Pilot said that his Ministry has ordered probe against as many as 139 cases of alleged corporate fraud in more than three years.

"During the last three financial years and the current fiscal, the ministry has ordered investigation...in 139 cases of alleged corporate frauds through Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO)," Pilot said.

The cases involve allegations of siphoning off/diversion of funds by the promoters/directors, manipulation of books of accounts through running of pyramidal schemes and misuse of collective Investment Schemes by companies for collecting money from public.