• The Satyam fraud was waiting to happen. Will the government, Sebi, and other authorities do anything at all to stop such malpractices? What B. Ramalinga Raju has done amounts to large-scale investor betrayal. Honest members of the tax-paying public have lost their hard-earned money. On the other hand, what India’s fourth-largest IT company has done will badly shake foreign investors’ confidence in Indian companies. The fabled IT sector will take a hit. It will take time to salvage our reputation, especially during a recession. It is imperative for the government to punish Raju and others involved. Action should also be taken against Satyam’s auditors. Perhaps it is a good idea to rotate auditing firms among companies every two years or so. Unfortunately, there is a genuine fear that punishment will light for those responsible for India’s biggest corporate scandal.

— Amjad K. Maruf Thane

Breach of trust

• This refers to the editorial ‘Company to keep’. Satyam’s fraudulent manipulation of balance sheets, especially in this economic crisis, will shatter investor confidence. But Ramalinga Raju’s confession also underlines how professional and ethical breaches victimise the ignorant small investor. We have no safeguards to protect shareholders. Nor do we have a mechanism to swiftly, visibly and correctly punish the guilty. Economic offenders have the money, and therefore the power, to manipulate retributive action against them. But developed countries, that have innumerably more and bigger corporate scams, also have the system and the will to punish the guilty when they are caught. Enron is indeed a lesson for India.

... contd.