Statesman News Service
MUMBAI, Feb. 6: The decision of the government appointed board of Satyam Computers Limited to appoint Mr AS Murty ~ described as an insider in some quarters ~ as the new chief executive officer of the disgraced IT major has already raised a stink as some enthusiasts on Dalal Street have dug out at least three transactions from the Bombay Stock Exchange data which showed Mr Murty had sold 40,000 stocks of Satyam and pocketed about Rs 90 lakh just days ahead of Satyam’s aborted bid to invest more than Rs 8,000 crore in its property development subsidiaries.
Analysts say whether the deals should be probed as insider trading or looked upon as normal legitimate transactions is for the market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India to decide.
The data showed Mr Murty had sold 7,000 Satyam stocks on 12 December, 14,000 on 15 December and 19,000 on 16 December when the price on the exchange was Rs 220.75, Rs 225.40 and Rs 226.50 respectively.
As Dalal Street closed on 16 December, Satyam’s Mr B Ramlinga Raju declared his intention to buy out two subsidiaries.
At least three other top executives of Satyam, according to BSE data, started selling their shares from October onward. They had sold about 106,000 Satyam stocks from October to 16 December and earned around Rs 2.5 crore.
Two other names which find mention are Mr Manish Mehta and Mr K Sriram.
Dalal Street watchers claim Mr Murty has been Mr Raju’s confidant. Nor were these observers surprised at his choice as the new CEO.
Sebi is already looking into allegations of insider trading by the Raju brothers, who according to Dalal Street sources, allegedly rigged the stock price to take it up and then sold to make money.
It is alleged ~ an allegation which also finds mention in a report by the Registrar of Companies ~ that the promoters sold more than four crore stocks and earned more than Rs 1,050 crore.
The new Satyam board claims it had discussed the sale of Satyam stocks by Mr Murty with Sebi before it selected him as the new CEO.
Nothing wrong, says Gupta
NEW DELHI, Feb. 6: Corporate affairs minister, Mr Prem Chand Gupta, said today there was nothing wrong in Satyam's new CEO Mr AS Murty selling about 40,000 shares of the company days ahead of an acquisition move. “What's wrong in that... even if you have shares, you will sell them,” he said here. Meanwhile, the government has announced former Nasscom president Mr Kiran Karnik’s appointment as chairman of Satyam's new board. n PTI
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