Raju possibly smarter than regulators: Hinduja

By Indivjal Dhasmana Davos, Feb 2 (PTI) NRI business leader Gopichand Hinduja has said scandals such as the one in Satyam Computer will continue to haunt developed and developing countries, although this particular scam may have happened because the IT firm's founder Ramalinga Raju managed to outsmart the regulators.
The Hinduja Group Chairman, who was here to participate in the World Economic Forum, however, noted that the incident might not have much impact on the reputation of India Inc in the eyes of foreigners, who are more used to such scams.
Speaking to PTI about India's post-Satyam image before the rest of the world, Hinduja said, "India Inc enjoys a good reputation. These types of things... What have happened to Satyam, no doubt one has to admit that it is a scandal, but whether it is a developed country or developing country or emerging markets, these types of things will happen...".
He further pointed out that the Satyam crisis was largely because the founder of the company outsmarted the regulatory framework of the country. "One has to understand that possibly he (Ramalinga Raju) was more genius than regulators."
The Satyam scandal came to light on January 7, with a confession from the company's founder B Ramalinga Raju that he had been cooking the firm's books for several years. Raju's confession not only shocked India Inc, but investors all over the world.
Such type of wrongdoings are more prevalent in the western world and foreigners are used to this kind of happenings, Hinduja said. "I don't think that this has any effect or impact on foreigners. They are used (to such things). These are found much more in the western world".