India's Satyam Computer head quits after admitting falsifying accounts; shares plunge 78 pct

[dkf]

Satyam Computer head quits, admits doctoring books
India's Satyam Computer head quits after admitting falsifying accounts; shares plunge 78 pct

NEW DELHI (AP) -- The chairman of India's Satyam Computer Services Ltd. quit Wednesday after admitting the company's profits had been doctored for several years, shaking faith in the country's corporate giants as shares of the software services provider plunged nearly 80 percent.

The company's balance sheet -- riddled with "fictitious" assets and "non existent" cash -- contained a $1 billion hole that could no longer be concealed after a deal intended to save the struggling company was scuppered, Chairman B. Ramalinga Raju said in a letter to the board.

"Every attempt made to eliminate the gap failed," said Raju, 53. "It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten."

B. Rama Raju, managing director of Satyam Computer and the chairman's brother, also quit.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Satyam-Computer-head-quits-apf-13988506.html

News of the fraud dragged down the benchmark Sensex stock index 7.3 percent to 9,586.88 with Satyam's shares plummeting nearly 78 percent to 40 rupees. The accounting scandal raises questions about the quality of corporate governance in India and is likely to reverberate around the region.

[Lost4words]

1. I am shocked to find gambling going on here, where are my winnings?

8643

[thunder rising]

2. They could always blackmail the owners of the medical records, etc that they process

[FarCenter]

3. Capitalism works among Scottish Presbyterians

Other ethnic groups? Not so much.