Timeline of events surrounding Satyam Computer

Apr 2009

MUMBAI: The following is the timeline of events surrounding Satyam Computer Services since its founder B Ramalinga Raju made an abortive bid to make the company acquire two family enterprises, raising questions on corporate governance, followed by his admission to perpetrating India's biggest corporate fraud:

Dec 16, 2008 - Satyam announces plan to buy two realty firms part-owned by its founders for $1.6 billion, but does a U-turn after negative investor fallout

Dec 18 - Satyam board plans to meet Dec 29 to consider a share buyback to restore confidence.

Dec 23 - Satyam barred from business with the World Bank for eight years for providing bank staff with "improper benefits".

Dec 26 - Mangalam Srinivasan, an independent director, resigns.

Dec 29 - Three more directors quit.

Jan 7, 2009 - Raju resigns saying the company's profits had been inflated.

Jan 8 - Chief financial officer (CFO) Vadlamani Srinivas resigns.

Jan 9 - Andhra Pradesh police arrest Raju and his brother and former company managing director B Rama Raju on charges of cheating and forgery.

Jan 10 - Finance head Srinivas arrested.

Jan 11 - The central government reconstitutes Satyam board.

Jan 14 - Deloitte, KPMG named new joint auditors for Satyam.

Jan 14 - Satyam's former auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), says its opinion on the IT firm's financials may be rendered "inaccurate and unreliable".

Jan 19 - The government orders probe into possible "nexus" between the fraud-hit Satyam and Raju's two family-run firms Maytas Properties and Maytas Infrastructure.

Jan 21 - Ramalinga Raju confesses diverting Satyam funds to the Maytas firms.

Jan 23 - The Raju brothers, Srinivas sent to judicial custody till Jan 31.

Jan 23 - Court rejects SEBI plea to record statements of Raju brothers.

Jan 24 - Former Satyam auditor PWC's S. Gopalakrishnan and Srinivas Talluri arrested.

Jan 27 - The board appoints Goldman Sachs and Avendus, an Indian investment bank, to identify strategic investors.

Jan 31 - A Hyderabad court extends judicial custody of all accused to Feb 7.

Feb 3 - The Supreme Court allows SEBI to grill the Rajus.

Feb 5 - Satyam gets Rs.600 crore ($130 million) from banks to meet working capital requirements. A.S. Murty appointed new CEO.

Feb 6 - Former Nasscom chairman Kiran Karnik appointed Satyam chairman.

Feb 7 - Court extends the judicial custody of Ramalinga Raju and four other accused to Feb 21.

Feb 10 - Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy writes to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the fraud.

Feb 13 - SEBI relaxes takeover norms for Satyam, giving their reconstituted boards the power to lower the target price for open offers.

Feb 14 - The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) joins probe.

Feb 16 - The central government hands over investigations to the CBI.

Feb 21 - The government-appointed board, meeting for the seventh time, decides to invite strategic investors.

March 6 - Satyam gets permission from SEBI to sell 51 percent majority stake.

March 9 - The court allows CBI to take custody of Raju brothers, Srinivas and sacked PWC auditors Gopalakrishnan and Talluri Srinivas.

March 13 - L&T, Tech Mahindra, Spice Group and US outsourcer iGate Corp say they have registered as potential bidders.

March 13 - The company appoints former chief justice S.P. Bharucha to oversee the bidding, selection process.

March 20 - The board receives bids. iGate Corp says it will not bid.

March 27 - Spice Group says it will not proceed as it has not got the desired level of transparency.

April 7 - CBI files a 2,315 page chargesheet against the Raju brothers and seven other accused.

April 13 - Tech Mahindra selected as strategic investor.