US shareholder lawsuits filed against India's Satyam

Mayank Mehta (Student) (383 Points)

09 January 2009  

 

WASHINGTON (AFP) - - At least two US shareholder lawsuits have been filed against Indian outsourcing giant Satyam, engulfed in a fraud scandal likened to the one which brought down US energy giant Enron.

 

The law firm of Izard Nobel said late Wednesday it filed the suit seeking a class action in New York on behalf of people who purchased the American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of Satyam Computer Services between January 6, 2004, and January 6, 2009.
The suit alleges that Satyam and its executives violated US securities laws "by issuing materially false and misleading statements," the firm said in a statement.
Satyam's ADRs, or US-traded shares, fell 90 percent after the fraud was revealed.
Another lawsuit was filed in New York by the firm Vianale & Vianale, based in Florida, a statement from the law firm said.
Satyam Computer Services founder and chairman B. Ramalinga Raju resigned Wednesday, admitting in a letter to the industry regulator and stock exchange that company accounts and assets had been falsified and profits inflated.
The company said it would remain in operation despite being rocked by revelations the accounting fraud.
Interim chief executive Ram Mynampati said he and senior colleagues were shocked at disclosures made by founder-chairman B. Ramalinga Raju that company accounts and assets had been falsified and profits inflated.
But he insisted that neither he nor other board members knew of the scam, which also has prompted the company's managing director and chief finance officer to tender their resignations