Regulator to quiz Satyam's former finance head on Friday

Market regulator SEBI will interrogate Satyam Computer's former chief financial officer Vadlamani Srinivas in Chanchalguda central jail in Hyderabad on Friday and two former auditors of Pricewaterhouse a day earlier.

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will interrogate Satyam Computer's former chief financial officer Vadlamani Srinivas in Chanchalguda central jail in Hyderabad on Friday and two former auditors of Pricewaterhouse a day earlier.

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The market regulator's counsel sought a change in the dates for grilling the three even as a SEBI team reached the jail to begin interrogation, as permitted by the court earlier in the day.

Counsel told the court that the SEBI team could not begin interrogation on Wednesday, saying it needed time.

The SEBI team reached the jail soon after the court allowed the market watchdog to question Vadlamani and two former Pricewaterhouse auditors in connection with the Rs.70-billion accounting fraud at the IT services firm.

Pronouncing the orders, the sixth additional chief metropolitan magistrate D Ramakrishna directed the regulator to complete the process over the next two days.

He, however, changed the order on SEBI's request and allowed the market regulator to quiz Srinivas Feb 20 and the two auditors February 19.

Earlier, on the direction of the Supreme Court, the market regulator interrogated and recorded the statements of the company's disgraced founder and former chairman B. Ramalinga Raju and his brother Rama Raju for three days from February 4.

SEBI had last week moved the city court for permission to question the three other accused: Vadlamani and former Pricewaterhouse auditors S Gopalakrishnan and Talluri Srinivas. The three had allegedly colluded with the Raju brothers to fudge the accounts.