Indian court grants bail to Satyam's Raju in corporate fraud case

Nov 4, 2011, 11:44 GMT

New Delhi - The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to B Ramalinga Raju, the former chairman of information technology firm Satyam Computer Services Ltd and an accused in one of the biggest corporate fraud cases in India, a news report said.

Bail was granted to Raju, his brother B Rama Raju and the company's former chief financial officer, V Srinivas, the IANS news agency reported.

In January 2009, Raju admitted to overstating profits for years and fraudulent accounting of 1 billion dollars.

The Central Bureau of Investigation later told the court that the scam involved 140 billion rupees (2.8 billion dollars).

Satyam Computer was then India's fourth-largest information technology services firm with operations in 66 countries.

The accused have been held in Chanchalguda central jail in the southern city of Hyderabad since January 2009, except for a brief period when they were granted bail.

The trial in the fraud case, which has been described as India's Enron, began in 2010. According to legal experts, Raju may face up to 10 years in jail if convicted on charges of conspiracy, cheating and forgery.

Soon after the disclosure, the government sacked the Satyam board and appointed a new one. Tech Mahindra, the technology arm of India's Mahindra conglomerate, later took over the firm.