CBI digs up Rajus’ accounts in Mauritius

M Sagar Kumar
25 October 2009,
|
HYDERABAD: A top Indian team including sleuths from the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has zeroed in on
six bank accounts in Mauritius
linked to alleged money laundering by
B Ramalinga Raju, prime accused in the
Satyam scam, and his family members.

The team, headed by CBI DIG V V Lakshminarayana,
included an RBI officer, and left for Mauritius on October 18.
“In all, there is at least Rs 600 crore in the six accounts in Mauritius
linked to the Satyam scam and the figure can rise
by the time the investigations are over,” the sources said.

During the course of its investigations in the Satyam scam,
the CBI discovered that the scam money was either stashed
in foreign bank accounts or was being diverted back to India
through these accounts. Accordingly, the CBI special court sent
letters rogatory to six countries where the bank accounts linked to
the scam were said to be in operation. Apart from Mauritius,
the letters rogatory were sent to courts in the US, UK, Belgium,
British Isles and Singapore.

“The purpose of sending the letters rogatory was to
request the courts in these countries to record the statements
of the account holders and other connected persons and
convey the same to the special CBI court in Hyderabad,”
the sources said.

The CBI team left for Mauritius after the court there
communicated that it had recorded the statements of the
account holders and others as sought by the Indian investigating agency.

“The purpose of taking the RBI officer was to check the banking
norms and procedures in Mauritius and assist the CBI in tracing
the money trail,” the sources added.

The Interpol is assisting the CBI in unearthing the foreign link in the
Satyam scam, the sources said, and added that the CBI teams will
visit the other countries where such bank accounts are alleged to
exist as soon as the courts respond to the letters rogatory.

By establishing the foreign link in the Satyam scam,
the CBI hopes to prove its case that the Raju family had floated
almost 325 alleged benami companies and that the foreign accounts
acted as conduits to divert the money from Satyam only to be re-routed
to these fictitious companies and then laundered further for purchasing
land and property in and around Hyderabad. The CBI team is scheduled
to return to Hyderabad on Sunday.