PwC partners charged over Satyam

Ramalinga Raju, former chairman of Satyam

A charge sheet has been filed by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the key figures involved in the Satyam scandal, including the two PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) partners caught up in the affair.

The CBI has confirmed that charges have been filed at a court in Nampally, Hyderabad, naming 'Sri S. Gopalakrishnan (A-4), Auditor, Sri Talluri Srinivas (A-5), Auditor' as among the accused.

These also include Satyam Computer Services ex-chairman Ramalinga Raju, former managing director Rama Raju, former chief financial officer Vadlamani Srinivas and four other senior managers.

Referring to the accused collectively, a CBI statement said: 'The accused have been charge sheeted for offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating, cheating by personation, forgery of valuable security, forgery for the purpose of cheating, using a forged document as genuine, falsification of accounts and for causing disappearance of evidence.'

The CBI said it had filed a 300 page charge sheet, citing 433 witnesses and 1,532 documents in a legal bundle of 65,000 pages. The bureau boasted it had 'completed the investigation in a record time of 45 days'.

PwC in India is said to be 'surprised and disappointed' by the charges but awaiting more detail on the precise charges from India's CBI.

It is believed the firm considers that statements given by Satyam's former CFO have already some way to exonerate its partners.

While in police custody Gopalakrishnan has retired from the firm, after reaching its mandatory retirement age, while Talluri remains on suspension from the firm pending a 'resolution' of the investigation.