Former Satyam chief jailed for seven years over US$2.25bn accounting fraud
Byrraju Ramalinga Raju , his brother and eight others convicted of fixing the books of the outsourcing firm in 2009 during the technology boom
An Indian court yesterday sentenced the former chief of outsourcing giant Satyam to seven years in jail over a US$2.25 billion accounting fraud scandal dubbed "India's Enron".
Byrraju Ramalinga Raju, his brother and eight others were found guilty of manipulating Satyam's books in 2009 during the IT boom in India in a case that shook the industry and raised questions about the country's regulators.
"All the accused have been convicted of almost all charges," prosecutor K Surender told reporters outside the court in Hyderabad, capital of southern Andhra Pradesh state.
Raju was charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating and breaching public trust in a fraud that prosecutors told the court caused 140 billion rupees (HK$17.4 billion) in losses to shareholders.
The court imposed seven-year jail sentences and fines of 50 million rupees on Raju and his brother following a trial in which prosecutors produced thousands of pages of financial documents and 200-odd witnesses.
The eight other defendants were sentenced to seven years in jail and given fines of 2.5 million rupees, according to V Chandrasekhar, deputy inspector general of the Central Bureau of Investigation.