Victoria govt seeks refund of money it paid to woo Raju
The latest refund demand comes on a day Mahindra Satyam told the Victoria government it wants to log out of the project that Raju had promised would create 2000 jobs.
By Swati Bharadwaj Chand, TNN |
HYDERABAD: The ghost of Ramalinga Raju���s shady dealings is back to haunt the Mahindras, the new owners of Satyam. This time in Australia where the Victoria state has asked Mahindras to cough up, what it now claims were millions of dollars they paid Raju last year to woo him into setting up an A $75 million IT hub at Deakin University in Geelong.
The latest refund demand comes on a day Mahindra Satyam told the Victoria government it wants to log out of the project that Raju had promised would create 2000 jobs. Reports in Australian media quote Victoria���s IT minister John Lenders as saying the Satyam payoff was in millions of dollars by way of grant.
Mahindra Satyam���s corporate affairs president Sujit Bakshi is also quoted as saying that the company was committed to return the money soon. Interestingly, top Mahindra Satyam officials in Hyderabad played down the amount as being negligible.
Reports in ���The Geelong Advertiser��� and The Australian quote Bakshi has having said in a letter to Lenders: ���The need to concentrate on an extensive internal restructuring program of our business precludes Mahindra Satyam from embarking on expansion projects of this kind. While Mahindra Satyam is disappointed that it cannot proceed with the centre, it reaffirms its commitment to future expansion in Victoria when circumstances allow.���
Satyam���s Deakin project hasbecome a major political embarrassment for Brumby who is facing charges of squandering away tax-payers money in wooing a scamster. Terming the pullout as devastating , Victoria's opposition spokesperson Kim Wells has said: ���We want an explanation of what has happened to the money, how much money has been handed over.���
The latest refund demand comes on a day Mahindra Satyam told the Victoria government it wants to log out of the project that Raju had promised would create 2000 jobs. Reports in Australian media quote Victoria���s IT minister John Lenders as saying the Satyam payoff was in millions of dollars by way of grant.
Mahindra Satyam���s corporate affairs president Sujit Bakshi is also quoted as saying that the company was committed to return the money soon. Interestingly, top Mahindra Satyam officials in Hyderabad played down the amount as being negligible.
Reports in ���The Geelong Advertiser��� and The Australian quote Bakshi has having said in a letter to Lenders: ���The need to concentrate on an extensive internal restructuring program of our business precludes Mahindra Satyam from embarking on expansion projects of this kind. While Mahindra Satyam is disappointed that it cannot proceed with the centre, it reaffirms its commitment to future expansion in Victoria when circumstances allow.���
Satyam���s Deakin project hasbecome a major political embarrassment for Brumby who is facing charges of squandering away tax-payers money in wooing a scamster. Terming the pullout as devastating , Victoria's opposition spokesperson Kim Wells has said: ���We want an explanation of what has happened to the money, how much money has been handed over.���
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