Satyam auditor bailed

Ramalinga Raju, former head of Satyam

Talluri Srinivas, one of the PricewaterhouseCoopers auditors arrested more than a year ago in connection with the US$1 billion Satyam Computer Services scandal has at last been granted bail by India’s Supreme Court.

Srinivas' lawyer had contended that he audited Satyam accounts only after 2007, while the inflated profits at the heart of the scandal date back many years.

The court decided in his favour on Thursday (4 February), despite opposition from lawyers for India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). They referred to a report by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), saying that he had signed on the audit reports on behalf of Price Waterhouse India (PwC’s name in India) deliberately with the knowledge of its implications and consequences. This violated the requirements of the Auditing & Assurance Standards 28 (AAS-28), argued CBI lawyers, which establishes standards on the form and content of auditors’ reports on financial statements.

Srinivas is, however, not allowed to leave Hyderabad city without the CBI’s permission, and has had his passport confiscated. The court has also directed him not to tamper with any evidence associated with the case or influence witnesses.

The other PriceWaterhouse auditor involved in the scandal, Subramani Gopalakrishnan, remains in prison in connection with the Satyam fraud.

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