Securities Appellate Tribunal stays Sebi fine on Ramalinga Raju

Mumbai: The Securities Appellate Tribunal on Monday stayed the Rs1,849-crore penalty that Sebi had slapped on the founder-chairman of Satyam, B Ramalinga Raju and four others, but upheld a ban on them from accessing the markets. The tribunal posted the matter for further hearing in December, when it will decide whether to admit the pleas of the Raju brothers and others against Sebi order.

The tribunal asked Sebi to explain why such a large amount was imposed as part of a disgorgement order and to file an affidavit stating its position by November 7. It also asked Mr Raju and four others named in the scam to file counter-affidavits by December 15. The four others facing the prohibitory orders are Mr Raju’s brother B Rama Raju (the then MD of Satyam), Vadlamani Srinivas (ex-CFO), G Rama-krishna (ex-VP) and VS Prabhakara Gupta (ex-head of internal audit).

Following the Sebi order, the Raju brothers had moved the SAT last Friday. Sebi on July 15 this year barred Ramal-inga Raju and the four others from accessing the market for 14 years and asked them to return Rs1,849 crore in unlawful gains with 12 per cent interest, in total a disgorgement amount of over Rs3,000 crore. It asked them to pay up within 45 days of the order, closing five-and-a-half year long probe.