SAT stays SEBI penalty on Satyam’s Raju, 4 others; upholds ban

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), on Monday, stayed the Rs.1,849-crore penalty that Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had slapped on the founder-chairman of Satyam B. Ramalinga Raju and four others, but upheld a ban on them from accessing the markets. The tribunal posted the matter for further hearing in December, when it will decide whether to admit the pleas of the Raju brothers and others against SEBI order. The tribunal asked SEBI to explain why such a large amount was imposed as part of a disgorgement order and to file an affidavit stating its position by November 7. The tribunal also asked Raju and four others named in the scam to file counter-affidavits by December 15. The four others who are facing prohibitory orders are Raju’s brother B. Rama Raju (the then managing director of Satyam), Vadlamani Srinivas (ex-chief financial officer), G. Ramakrishna (ex-vice-president) and VS Prabhakara Gupta (ex-head of internal audit). Following the SEBI order, the Raju brothers had moved the SAT last Friday. SEBI ,on July 15 this year, barred Ramalinga Raju and four others from accessing the market for 14 years, and asked them to return Rs.1,8490000000 in unlawful gains with 12% interest, in total a disgorgement amount of over Rs.3,0000000000. — PTI