IT-BPOs for probe into Satyam case

[Sudhakar]

IT-BPOs for probe into Satyam case

Fearing that the image of the Indian IT companies globally will take a beating following the Satyam fiasco,IT-BPO union UNITES on Friday said that industry body Nasscom should institute an inquiry in association with World Bank on Satyam [Get Quote], which has been banned from doing business with the bank for eight years.

"We want the inquiry to look into possibility that some vested interests, who want to tarnish the good name and reputation of the Indian IT companies and discredit Indian companies, may have played a roll in this episode," UNITES professionals India president Prithviraj Lekkad told PTI.

Nasscom and the government of India would have to decisively intervene and get to the bottom of the World Bank findings on Satyam and clear the fair name of Indian companies not excluding Satyam and the integrity of the staff working for them abroad, he added.

However, Nasscom president Som Mittal, when contacted, said he had not received any request from anybody to conduct an inquiry on Satyam. "It's a company-level issue and we don't have any authority to conduct an inquiry into the matter," he said.

The World Bank had said on December 23 said that "Satyam is declared ineligible for contracts for providing improper benefits to Bank staff and for failing to maintain documentation to support fees charges for its sub-contractors."

Within two days of the Bank's announcement, Satyam had formally requested the World Bank to immediately withdraw those statements and asked it to "issue a new statement apologising to Satyam for the harm done to the company due to the Bank's actions."

The move by the World Bank came at a time when Satyam was already reeling under a crisis over aborted acquisition of two firms promoted by the family of Chairman B Ramalinga Raju.

Lekkad further said if there is any involvement of the World Bank office officials in the "questionable act", as alleged, this calls for immediate probe at highest levels.

He further said Satyam and other Indian companies working on contracts in the US and elsewhere should exercise utmost caution while sub-contracting their work to smaller companies. They should ensure that the staff of these companies are of unimpeachable integrity, he said.