Satyam Board shortlists 3 names for CEO, CFO

New Delhi: Satyam Computer Services Ltd's new six-member board is in damage control mode. They are looking for a new CEO as well as new CFO for the beleaguered firm and it has been no easy job till now.
Though the firm is fraud-hit, the new board has been flooded with resumes for the two posts. The board sifted through and initially shortlisted 40 applications for consideration.
Now, three names have been shortlisted for the two top posts and though the board members are not saying anything yet, the selections will be taken next week.
Meanwhile, in a communication to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the board has said that the new CEO will be a leader of global standing and recognition. The members announced after the board meeting - chaired by Tarun Das - that the CEO will be uniquely qualified for leading the transition.
The new board also told the BSE that funding arrangements for Satyam is in final stages and will be announced before January 28. Members said they were close to arranging funds to meet the immediate requirements like salary payments, while dispelling doubts about employee numbers - 53,000.
Commenting on the doubts raised on the headcount, the board said: "Prima facie there appears to be no basis to doubt the same. The independent investigation process is expected to reaffirm this fact in the coming weeks."
Satyam director Deepak Parekh indicated that the immovable properties of the company, including campuses, could be mortgaged to raise funds as "they are free of any encumbrance."
The government-appointed board, which met for two days from Thursday, is expected to formally announce before January 28 the funding arrangements, which will address the company's operational needs till the end of March 2009.
The collections from receivables have been robust so far making the cash position a little better, the company said in a statement after the board meeting.
Satyam is struggling to regain its footing after the IT giant was hit by a Rs 7,800 crore accounting scandal. The only respite as of now is that the immovable properties of company is free from any encumbrances.
In another development, Larsen & Toubro, which had shown an interest in buying Satyam has increased its stake in the company from four per cent to 12 per cent.
COURT REJECTS SEBI PLEA TO QUESTION RAJU
According to Rajus' lawyer S Bharat Kumar market regulator Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI) of India's plea to record statements of disgraced Satyam Computer Services chairman, B Ramalinga Raju and his brother B Rama Raju, were rejected by a Delhi court.
The Nampally Court rejected the interrogation request statement of the Raju brothers' on the grounds of maintainability and jurisdiction.
The court also refused to entertain another petition by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), seeking permission to record statement of the Raju brothers as well as former Satyam CFO Srinivas Vadalamani.
All three have been sent to judicial remand till 31 January. The court also posted the bail applications of Ramalinga and Srinivas for hearing on January 27 and that of Rama Raju on January 28.
Public prosecutor K Ajay Kumar had opposed Ramalinga's bail plea, contending that he was supposed to be a watchdog of public money, but betrayed the trust by fudging accounts.
"The crime he (Ramalinga Raju) committed was grave and heinous," Kumar said.
The Rajus were arrested on January 9 and Srinivas on January 10 and have been inaccessible to the separate investigation teams of SEBI and SFIO that reached the city as early as January 8 - a day after Ramalinga disclosed a Rs 7,800 crore accounting fraud in his company.
Raju admitted in court on Friday that he is not being harassed by the police in custody.
Meanwhile, Raju's counsel Bharat Kumar has lodged a compaint with the Andhra Pradesh Human Rights Commission against the detention of two employees of Raju's brother. In the complaint it is alleged that two employees of SRSR company owned by Ramalinga Raju's brother Surya Narayana Raju have been detained by the CID.