The government's Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) today started the preliminary inspection of the books of accounts of Satyam Computer Services and eight related companies under section 209A of the Companies Act. This will form the interim report of the government based on which comprehensive investigation will be carried out under section 235 of the Act.
Section 209A deals with inspection of books and accounts of companies, while section 235 empowers the government to appoint inspectors once the report from the registrar of companies is received.
Sources said, the interim report is significant since investigation under section 235 is a lengthy process. Based on the interim report, other regulatory bodies will be asked to co-operate and the preliminary course of action against the company and its auditors may be worked out.
The SFIO team, led by joint director Sudhir Samant, will be accompanied by the local police, banking and income tax experts.
In its existence for almost five-and-a-half years, SFIO has investigated 31 cases and filed 671 cases under Companies Act, 1956 and 68 cases under Indian Penal Code in various courts across the country.
A most recent victory for the SFIO has been the chargesheeting of Rajkumar Basantani in coordination with the economic offenses wing of the Mumbai crime branch. Basantani is the prime accused in Soundcraft Industries, Adam Comsof and Kolar Biotech which has duped fixed deposit holders to the tune of Rs 23 crore and defaulted in payments of around Rs 150 crores to banks and financial institutions.