Satyam fraud: SEBI was perplexed

Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju’s communication about an accounting fraud left market regulator Sebi in a fix over halting trade in the stock, but it allowed the scrip to change hands although the US markets did not.

Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju’s communication about an accounting fraud left market regulator Sebi in a fix over halting trade in the stock, but it allowed the scrip to change hands although the US markets did not.

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“At that time the issue was do you close the market or do you allow the market to operate? Now if there is somebody who knows about the confession (and) wants to buy (or sell) at price ‘X’, should we as a regulator be coming in the way?” said SEBI chairman CB Bhave.

His reaction on receipt of Raju’s e-mail was, however, that of disbelief. “The content of the e-mail were such that no CEO had ever sent an e-mail like that... One had to verify whether it is genuine or (is) somebody playing a prank.”