Amarchand drafted in to handle 'India's Enron'
Embattled technology outsourcing company Satyam Computer Services has hired one of India's top law firms to advise it on issues arising from the accounting fraud scandal that has rocked the local business community. Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co was appointed legal adviser to the board of directors at a meeting convened on Saturday (17 January) at Satyam's Hyderabad headquarters.The Mumbai-based Amarchand is one of the largest firms in India with over 400 lawyers. It is also one of the most familiar to US and UK lawyers, as it commonly advises on Indian law aspects of major cross-border deals. The firm counts as clients major Indian conglomerations like the Ambani brothers' Reliance Group as well as major multinationals.
January 19, 2009 at 10:45 AM
2 minute read
Embattled technology outsourcing company Satyam Computer Services has hired one of India's top law firms to advise it on issues arising from the accounting fraud scandal that has rocked the local business community.
Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co was appointed legal adviser to the board of directors at a meeting convened on Saturday (17 January) at Satyam's Hyderabad headquarters.
The Mumbai-based Amarchand is one of the largest firms in India with over 400 lawyers. It is also one of the most familiar to US and UK lawyers, as it commonly advises on Indian law aspects of major cross-border deals. The firm counts as clients major Indian conglomerations like the Ambani brothers' Reliance Group as well as major multinationals.
Clifford Chance last year bolstered its India practice with the recruitment of Amarchand capital markets partner Rahul Guptan, who joined the London law firm's Singapore arm.
The Satyam scandal, which has been dubbed 'India's Enron', unfolded earlier this month when chairman and founder Ramalinga Raju admitted in a letter to board members that he had falsified the company's accounts, inflating profits for years and creating a fictional cash balance of around RUP50bn (£708m).
Raju and other senior Satyam executives are facing criminal prosecution and the scandal has spurred a broad debate over corporate governance and regulatory oversight in India. The fraud has also damaged the image of the Indian IT outsourcing industry, one of the economy's brightest spots over the past few years.
Several US law firms have already filed suit against Satyam on behalf of US investors. The company has yet to name a US counsel for these cases, many of which have been filed in federal court in Manhattan.
In the minutes of its Saturday meeting, Satyam's board also announced the establishment of an audit committee and the hiring of accounting firm Brahmayya & Co. The scandal has also raised questions about the work of PricewaterhouseCoopers, whose Indian subsidiary handled Satyam's books.
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