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The Double Life of Ramalinga Raju
The story of the rise and fall of Ramalinga Raju, promoter of the blue-chip software company Satyam, has no parallel in Indian corporate history. He created a $ 2 billion company in a short period of time, only to leave it penniless. At the heart of the scandal lay the IT baron's craving for land (his family's traditional business). To satisfy it, Raju pawned his shareholding in Satyam as well as in his real estate company, Maytas Infra, and allegedly siphoned off funds from both companies. In an elaborate cover up, Raju also fudged Satyam's books to inflate its revenues and profits, to increase the value of its shares. Raju was able to do this for eight years — until the recession hit in 2008 and the bubble blew in his face.How did Raju amass his IT and real estate empires? How could he hoodwink the law, the shareholders and his employees for so long? This unputdownable fly-on-the-wall narrative, written with incisive depth by Kingshuk Nag, resident editor of the Hyderabad edition of The Times of India, capttures the dramatic story of Raju's life.
- GenresNonfictionBusiness
182 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2009
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December 24, 2018
Leo Tolstoy is a legendary author. Even after more than a century, his works are still read with passion. If you have ever gone beyond two of his masterpieces- Anna Karenina and War and Peace, then you shall find that he has to his credit a huge collection of short stories. Now you may wonder why I need to mention him here? It’s because one of his short stories has a striking resemblance to the chief protagonist here. The name of his classic short story was “How much land does a man need”. This is the story of a peasant who was passionate and obsessed with land. With his possession, he could have led a comfortable life but he went on a land buying and selling spree. Soon he was made a seemingly lucrative offer by an ethnic group, but there was a condition. The amount he has to pay was thousand rubles. Starting at daybreak, he can walk and mark his route with spade along the way. Before sunset he has to return to his starting point. If he is successful, the land that the route encloses will be his. Otherwise he will lose his money and receive no land as well. He ran to cover as much ground as possible. He did manage to gain a huge chunk of land but he died on reaching the starting point. The reason was exhaustion. The story stands relevant even today. Sometimes a man forgets where to stop and his greed become his bane. Ramalinga Raju's story is not only regarding mindless land acquisition but also about how he fooled his stakeholders and siphoned off huge amount of funds to satisfy his cravings. Though he was heading a global IT company but still he could not do away with his deeply ingrained feudal mindset, with primary interest in the acquisition of land. This led to contradictions.
Ramalinga Raju was a chance IT entrepreneur who cofounded Satyam along with his cousin. Soon the company became a roaring success. In those days, software development was an onshore model. It was he who proposed that its software engineers would work offshore- from India. There was also a considerable cost advantage. It was he who pioneered the concept of offshoring that subsequently developed into a big industry in India. Satyam Computers rode on to the crest of outsourcing boom. With a humble beginning in 1987 with 23 employees they became a leading global player with 53,000 staff. The company was rated fourth largest IT company of India. They operated in 66 countries with 185 fortune companies as its client. A very impressive figure. They were also listed in New Year Stock Exchange. The erstwhile chief minister of Andhra Pradesh , Chandrababu Naidu wanted to showcase Hyderabad as a shining model of emerging India. Ramalinga Raju was shown as the icon of new Hyderabad and he also shared the same dais with Bill Clinton. He was considered the poster boy of Indian industry and was getting world-wide recognition. Such was his fame that there was a time when it was said that Hyderabad had two landmarks- The Charminar and Ramalinga Raju. Within a short span of time, venerated Ramalinga Raju and Satyam became a household name in India. Satyam became preferred destination for students passing out of engineering colleges. It was also favored as scouting place for parents seeking matches for their daughters.
He also made a name for his magnanimous and charitable works. He started a foundation which did noticeable and praiseworthy work in program for health, education, water supply, livelihood training and sanitations. His initiative and efforts were lauded and his foundation received many awards which included highly rated awards like FICCI award for best corporate social responsibilities and IBM award for innovative rural education. He founded Emergency Management and Research Institute, better known as EMRI for emergency management service. This provides quick ambulance services to people in emergency. They can get the service by just dialing a number. The service which was started in Andhra Pradesh was soon extended to other states. Ramalinga Raju had created such an aura and reputation that Dr. APJ Kalam, Tarun Das and Kiran Karnik were board members of EMRI.
With the advent of real estate boom, Ramalinga Raju entered into business. He began to invest all his wealth earned from dividends of Satyam, into purchase of land. Due to IT industry, Hyderabad was growing very fast. Sensing huge opportunity, he stepped up his land purchases. When in need of more funds, he began selling off his and that of his family members' shares of Satyam.
He had already floated two companies-Maytas Properties and Maytas Infra. Stock prices of Satyam was spiraling which not only benefitted rating of the company but also directly benefitted him because he was selling his own shares. The money was being used to buy more lands for his construction and infrastructure company. The two companies headed by his two sons. Maytas Infra , individually and through joint venture partners, had won order worth 30,000 Crores across roads, ports, irrigation and rail projects. The land laws in Andhra Pradesh are very stringent which forbid an individual to own more than fifty-four acres of land. So he opened around 325 more companies in the name of his immediate and extended families. The companies were duly registered and the objective was to purchase maximum possible lands.
When Hyderabad became capital of Andhra Pradesh in 1956, never an attempt was made to rebuild the city. After IT industry, the Hyderabad appeared in global map as one of most happening cities to do business. Frantic constructions were taking place but streets were very narrow. It was then the idea of metro rail was conceived for Hyderabad. There was a catch however. Hyderabad is atop granite rock so an underground metro is a cumbersome and costly proposition. It was possible in Kolkata because of soft alluvial soil. New Delhi has a metro railway which is partly below and party above the ground. Only option available for Hyderabad is fully over-ground metro in a congested city. This means demolishing the old landmarks. The government was apprehensive but there was lobby from real estate group to proceed with the project. Ramalinga Raju was an active member of the group. Ultimately the largest metro rail projects in the world in a public-private participation mode was cleared by central government in 2008. Surprisingly, Mayta Infra defeated some tough competitors and won the rights to implements 12,500 crore Hyderabad metro rail system.
Ramalinga Raju was on a roller coaster ride. The manner and burgeoning speed with which Ramalinga Raju's fortune was rising, it seemed reaching moon would not be far off. Now let’s discuss the unsavory, ugly, unfortunate and sordid parts of the whole story, which destroyed his empire. He later admitted that he has been fudging book of accounts for years by showing higher than the actual revenues and profits for Satyam. Now why was he doing that? The primary reason is that he needed money to buy land. Fudging accounting figures shows an impressive revenue figure which boosted company’s share price and market capitalization. Another reason that he embarked on this unholy path was due to inferiority complex. He knew he could never match likes of Azim Premji and Narayana Murthy. The denizens of Andhra Pradesh have made him a kind of demi-god and he was under pressure to live up to that image. So there was no way he could show vastly inferior revenue figures compared to that of Infosys or Satyam. Over the years, Satyam was growing in stature but Ramalinga Raju was looking for an exit path. He knew that fudging is having a pernicious impact and it’s not going to remain arcane for life. The company would go bust later. He entered into numerous joint ventures and partnership with other companies. For every project Maytas secured, a joint ventures association was formed. While presenting books of Maytas, he would reflect financials of the joint venture companies in which Maytas would be holding only minority stake. After IT industry slowdown, his share prices were falling and worth of his collateral was declining. Banks were now after him and wanted to be compensated. However, he did not have the cash to do so. His wealth was declining greatly. To cover up the missing cash of Satyam with real assets of Maytas, an aborted bid by Satyam to acquire Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties were made. He was entangled into an imbroglio. He had landed himself into an impasse and his companies were already in moribund stage. The Satyam scam took a heavy toll on the fortune of two firms. Maytas Infra failed to achieve require financial closure for metro project. The project was ultimately awarded to L&T. The turn of events precluded Ramalinga Raju from holding on to these two companies.
Now the moot question is that how nobody could ever smell the rat? Didn’t anything beckon board of directors, auditors and regulators? This speaks of poor quality of corporate governance in India. Satyam board of directors were studded with stars. They had preoccupation and also served as board members in other companies. Moreover, they had immense and unshakable faith in Ramalinga Raju. In other words, well paid board members were a mere sleeping directors and sinecures. As far auditors from Pricewaters were concerned, they were alleged to be partners in crime. Though the same has not been proved in court.
Question still lingers why Ramalinga Raju ultimately confessed? Satyam had hired Merrill Lynch to look into strategic options. It took them just few weeks to figure out that Satyam's book of accounts were cooked. While writing a mail to him regarding financial irregularities, they marked a copy to SEBI and BSE and the two organizations were bound to make this revelation public. He realized that his game was up. He also realized that he had hardly any shares left in his own company and could be easily voted out of the company. He was also liable to be tried in US court, which would be much more difficult to negotiate compared to Indian court. So even before market regulator made it public, he admitted to his wrongdoing. Many investors and pensioners who had put their entire savings in company’s share had become penniless. Few of them committed suicide. The Life Insurance lost a whopping 950 crores.
The English meaning of Satyam is truth but it was run with web of lies, which sullied its brand image. In google, just type “The rise and”. You see “fall” after “and”. The higher the rise, the greater is the fall. Countless examples of large empire disintegrating are given like Rise and
Fall of Third Reich, Roman Empire, Mughal Empire, USSR, Lehman Brothers etc. Just recall first paragraph of the review. Ramalinga Raju met the same fate as that of the peasant. There is also a reason for his passion towards land. He belongs to Raju community who took to land and became big farmers. Later they diversified into real estate development. So despite running a successful company, his mind and passion laid somewhere else. His milieu has also influenced him to take certain decisions. The hunger and greed bought to his downfall. The upper trajectory and vertical fall has been nicely captured. The murkier activities of corporate world have been well documented. The author has scrupulously done his homework before penning this book. The book also narrates about Ramalinga Raju's lineage, his socio economic impact, how he was treated by his community and his brilliant equation with politicians. This additional information further made the book readable to different class of readers. To sum up, the book is highly recommended if you don’t have much idea about the events associated with the scam.
Ramalinga Raju was a chance IT entrepreneur who cofounded Satyam along with his cousin. Soon the company became a roaring success. In those days, software development was an onshore model. It was he who proposed that its software engineers would work offshore- from India. There was also a considerable cost advantage. It was he who pioneered the concept of offshoring that subsequently developed into a big industry in India. Satyam Computers rode on to the crest of outsourcing boom. With a humble beginning in 1987 with 23 employees they became a leading global player with 53,000 staff. The company was rated fourth largest IT company of India. They operated in 66 countries with 185 fortune companies as its client. A very impressive figure. They were also listed in New Year Stock Exchange. The erstwhile chief minister of Andhra Pradesh , Chandrababu Naidu wanted to showcase Hyderabad as a shining model of emerging India. Ramalinga Raju was shown as the icon of new Hyderabad and he also shared the same dais with Bill Clinton. He was considered the poster boy of Indian industry and was getting world-wide recognition. Such was his fame that there was a time when it was said that Hyderabad had two landmarks- The Charminar and Ramalinga Raju. Within a short span of time, venerated Ramalinga Raju and Satyam became a household name in India. Satyam became preferred destination for students passing out of engineering colleges. It was also favored as scouting place for parents seeking matches for their daughters.
He also made a name for his magnanimous and charitable works. He started a foundation which did noticeable and praiseworthy work in program for health, education, water supply, livelihood training and sanitations. His initiative and efforts were lauded and his foundation received many awards which included highly rated awards like FICCI award for best corporate social responsibilities and IBM award for innovative rural education. He founded Emergency Management and Research Institute, better known as EMRI for emergency management service. This provides quick ambulance services to people in emergency. They can get the service by just dialing a number. The service which was started in Andhra Pradesh was soon extended to other states. Ramalinga Raju had created such an aura and reputation that Dr. APJ Kalam, Tarun Das and Kiran Karnik were board members of EMRI.
With the advent of real estate boom, Ramalinga Raju entered into business. He began to invest all his wealth earned from dividends of Satyam, into purchase of land. Due to IT industry, Hyderabad was growing very fast. Sensing huge opportunity, he stepped up his land purchases. When in need of more funds, he began selling off his and that of his family members' shares of Satyam.
He had already floated two companies-Maytas Properties and Maytas Infra. Stock prices of Satyam was spiraling which not only benefitted rating of the company but also directly benefitted him because he was selling his own shares. The money was being used to buy more lands for his construction and infrastructure company. The two companies headed by his two sons. Maytas Infra , individually and through joint venture partners, had won order worth 30,000 Crores across roads, ports, irrigation and rail projects. The land laws in Andhra Pradesh are very stringent which forbid an individual to own more than fifty-four acres of land. So he opened around 325 more companies in the name of his immediate and extended families. The companies were duly registered and the objective was to purchase maximum possible lands.
When Hyderabad became capital of Andhra Pradesh in 1956, never an attempt was made to rebuild the city. After IT industry, the Hyderabad appeared in global map as one of most happening cities to do business. Frantic constructions were taking place but streets were very narrow. It was then the idea of metro rail was conceived for Hyderabad. There was a catch however. Hyderabad is atop granite rock so an underground metro is a cumbersome and costly proposition. It was possible in Kolkata because of soft alluvial soil. New Delhi has a metro railway which is partly below and party above the ground. Only option available for Hyderabad is fully over-ground metro in a congested city. This means demolishing the old landmarks. The government was apprehensive but there was lobby from real estate group to proceed with the project. Ramalinga Raju was an active member of the group. Ultimately the largest metro rail projects in the world in a public-private participation mode was cleared by central government in 2008. Surprisingly, Mayta Infra defeated some tough competitors and won the rights to implements 12,500 crore Hyderabad metro rail system.
Ramalinga Raju was on a roller coaster ride. The manner and burgeoning speed with which Ramalinga Raju's fortune was rising, it seemed reaching moon would not be far off. Now let’s discuss the unsavory, ugly, unfortunate and sordid parts of the whole story, which destroyed his empire. He later admitted that he has been fudging book of accounts for years by showing higher than the actual revenues and profits for Satyam. Now why was he doing that? The primary reason is that he needed money to buy land. Fudging accounting figures shows an impressive revenue figure which boosted company’s share price and market capitalization. Another reason that he embarked on this unholy path was due to inferiority complex. He knew he could never match likes of Azim Premji and Narayana Murthy. The denizens of Andhra Pradesh have made him a kind of demi-god and he was under pressure to live up to that image. So there was no way he could show vastly inferior revenue figures compared to that of Infosys or Satyam. Over the years, Satyam was growing in stature but Ramalinga Raju was looking for an exit path. He knew that fudging is having a pernicious impact and it’s not going to remain arcane for life. The company would go bust later. He entered into numerous joint ventures and partnership with other companies. For every project Maytas secured, a joint ventures association was formed. While presenting books of Maytas, he would reflect financials of the joint venture companies in which Maytas would be holding only minority stake. After IT industry slowdown, his share prices were falling and worth of his collateral was declining. Banks were now after him and wanted to be compensated. However, he did not have the cash to do so. His wealth was declining greatly. To cover up the missing cash of Satyam with real assets of Maytas, an aborted bid by Satyam to acquire Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties were made. He was entangled into an imbroglio. He had landed himself into an impasse and his companies were already in moribund stage. The Satyam scam took a heavy toll on the fortune of two firms. Maytas Infra failed to achieve require financial closure for metro project. The project was ultimately awarded to L&T. The turn of events precluded Ramalinga Raju from holding on to these two companies.
Now the moot question is that how nobody could ever smell the rat? Didn’t anything beckon board of directors, auditors and regulators? This speaks of poor quality of corporate governance in India. Satyam board of directors were studded with stars. They had preoccupation and also served as board members in other companies. Moreover, they had immense and unshakable faith in Ramalinga Raju. In other words, well paid board members were a mere sleeping directors and sinecures. As far auditors from Pricewaters were concerned, they were alleged to be partners in crime. Though the same has not been proved in court.
Question still lingers why Ramalinga Raju ultimately confessed? Satyam had hired Merrill Lynch to look into strategic options. It took them just few weeks to figure out that Satyam's book of accounts were cooked. While writing a mail to him regarding financial irregularities, they marked a copy to SEBI and BSE and the two organizations were bound to make this revelation public. He realized that his game was up. He also realized that he had hardly any shares left in his own company and could be easily voted out of the company. He was also liable to be tried in US court, which would be much more difficult to negotiate compared to Indian court. So even before market regulator made it public, he admitted to his wrongdoing. Many investors and pensioners who had put their entire savings in company’s share had become penniless. Few of them committed suicide. The Life Insurance lost a whopping 950 crores.
The English meaning of Satyam is truth but it was run with web of lies, which sullied its brand image. In google, just type “The rise and”. You see “fall” after “and”. The higher the rise, the greater is the fall. Countless examples of large empire disintegrating are given like Rise and
Fall of Third Reich, Roman Empire, Mughal Empire, USSR, Lehman Brothers etc. Just recall first paragraph of the review. Ramalinga Raju met the same fate as that of the peasant. There is also a reason for his passion towards land. He belongs to Raju community who took to land and became big farmers. Later they diversified into real estate development. So despite running a successful company, his mind and passion laid somewhere else. His milieu has also influenced him to take certain decisions. The hunger and greed bought to his downfall. The upper trajectory and vertical fall has been nicely captured. The murkier activities of corporate world have been well documented. The author has scrupulously done his homework before penning this book. The book also narrates about Ramalinga Raju's lineage, his socio economic impact, how he was treated by his community and his brilliant equation with politicians. This additional information further made the book readable to different class of readers. To sum up, the book is highly recommended if you don’t have much idea about the events associated with the scam.
February 17, 2022
Book: The Double Life Of Ramalinga Raju
Author: Kingshuk Nag
Publisher: Collins (21 October 2009)
Language: English
Paperback: 196 pages
Item Weight: 159 g
Dimensions: 13.97 x 1.19 x 21.59 cm
Country of Origin: India
Price: 296/-
"Somewhere down the line, as Raju was building his empire, his ambition got the better of him. He seemed to have lost his sense of right and wrong and his sense of balance, and began to think that the ends justified the means.
Even after attending Harvard Business School, he did not foresee that he could not possibly go undetected forever for cooking up his balance sheets to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees.
Raju’s story is also illustrative in the sense that it displays how a person exposed to the modern world could be propelled by feudal factors and carried away by tribal instincts. Raju lusted for land as if that was the only productive asset he had. For him the whole world revolved around his own immediate family and the Raju community..."
ননফিকশন, থ্রিলার-ধর্মী বইয়ে পাঠকের সমস্ত মনোযোগ থাকে রহস্যের উদ্ঘাটনের দিকেই। কিন্তু এ গল্প শুধু অপরাধ এবং রহস্যভেদ নিয়ে নয়।
মনস্তত্ত্ব এ গল্পের মজ্জায় মজ্জায়।
অসাধু সংস্থায় টাকা লগ্নি করে সেদিন যাঁরা নিঃস্ব, তাঁরা স্বখাতসলিলে ডুবেছিলেন। লোভ তাঁদের ডুবিয়েছিল।
সেই তৃতীয় রিপু। অর্থবান হওয়ার লোভ, সচ্ছলতার লোভ।
ভাল থাকতে চাওয়ার মধ্যে কোনও অন্যায় নেই। বস্তুত, ওই আদিম রিপুটির তাগিদেই মানবসভ্যতা অগ্রসর হয়েছে। কিন্তু, ভাল থাকবার ইচ্ছা এক কথা, তাহর জন্য কাণ্ডজ্ঞানবিস্মৃত হওয়া আর এক।
এই গল্পের কোনও নায়ক নেই। আছেন এক কেন্দ্রীয় চরিত্র। নাম রামালিঙ্গা রাজু।
জমি অধিগ্রহনের লোভ লোকটাকে সপ্তনরক হাফিয়া দোজখে নিয়ে গিয়ে ফেললো।
২০০৯ সালে প্রথম সামনে এসেছিল দেশের কর্পোরেট জগতের অন্যতম বৃহৎ এই আর্থিক কেলেঙ্কারি।
জালিয়াতি স্বীকার করে সেবিকে চিঠি দিয়েছিলেন রামলিঙ্গ রাজু। তার পরই তদন্ত শুরু করে সেবি। সাড়ে ৫ বছর ধরে তদন্তের পর এ দিন ৬৫ পাতার নির্দেশে তারা জানিয়েছে, সত্যমে জালিয়াতির পরিমাণ ১২,০০০ কোটি টাকারও বেশি।
পাঁচ জনের বেআইনি মুনাফা ১,৮৪৯ কোটি টাকা।
তদন্তে প্রকাশ, কয়েক বছর ধরে নিয়মিত জালিয়াতি চালিয়েছিলেন রাজু-সহ ওই কর্তারা। বাড়িয়ে দেখানো হয় সত্যমের লাভ ও নগদের পরিমাণ। সংস্থার দায়-সহ অন্যান্য তথ্যও জাল করা হয়। এর ফলে ক্ষতির মুখে পড়েন সাধারণ লগ্নিকারীরা।
লেখক বলছেন: "Raju’s story is not merely about rapacious land acquisition – it is also about how he pawned his shareholding in Satyam as well as in his construction company, Maytas Infra, and how he allegedly siphoned off funds from both companies, to satisfy his craving. While the Russian peasant never broke the law, Raju thought nothing of doing so.
লোকটার ঠিক কতটা জমি ছিল শুনবেন পাঠক? লেখক বলছেন :
"By the time he went behind bars, Raju, along with his family members, was officially the owner of 6,800 acres (9,000 acres, according to unofficial estimates) of prime land in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Nagpur, among other places. While most of it lay vacant, Raju was developing high-end commercial and housing spaces in some areas."
জমির অর্থমূল্য ঠিক কতটা? লেখক বলছেন :
"It is difficult to put a value to this land, but Raju had on record estimated the value of his 6,800 acres at Rs 6,500 crore. By the same logic, 9,000 acres (the unofficial figure) would add up to more than Rs 8,500 crore. Even if one assumes that Raju had overestimated his land worth by 50 per cent, the value of his landholdings would be approximately Rs 4,000 crore."
সত্যম কেলেঙ্কারির প্রধান অভিযুক্ত বি রামলিঙ্গ রাজু ও তাঁর ভাই বি রাম রাজুকে সাত বছর সশ্রম কারাদণ্ডের আদেশ দেন বিশেষ আদালত। সঙ্গে সাড়ে পাঁচ কোটি টাকার জরিমানা। আদালত সাত বছরের জন্য জেলে যাওয়ার রায় দেন সংস্থার প্রাক্তন সিএফও বদলামণি শ্রীনিবাস, প্রাইসওয়াটারহাউস কুপার্সের তরফে প্রাক্তন হিসাব পরীক্ষক (অডিটর) এস গোপালকৃষ্ণন এবং টি শ্রীনিবাস সমেত আরও ৮ জনকে। সেই সঙ্গে ২৫ লক্ষ টাকা পর্যন্ত জরিমানাও দিতে বলা হয় তাঁদের।
কেমন জালিয়াতি? তার ইতিহাস কী ?
লেখক কিংশুক নাগ বইটিকে ভাগ করেছেন দশটি অধ্যায়ে :
1. The Confession
2. An Uproar Nixes a Merger
3. A Scheme Is Hatched
4. The Journey to the Top
5. The Realty Show
6. Derailed by a Rail Deal
7. The Great Siphoning Off
8. A Bundle of Contradictions
9. Crown Jewel of the Mahindras
10. Epilogue: Two Years After the Scam, Justice on a Slow Burn
২০০৯ সালের জানুয়ারিতে রামলিঙ্গ রাজুর বিস্ফোরক ই-মেল স্বীকারোক্তির পরেই সামনে আসে সত্যম কেলেঙ্কারি। সেখানে তিনি স্বীকার করেন যে, বছরের পর বছর সত্যমের ব্যবসা, বরাত ও মুনাফার অঙ্ক বাড়িয়ে দেখিয়েছেন তাঁরা।
তখন ৭,৮০০ কোটির ওই আর্থিক জালিয়াতি দেশের বৃহত্তম কর্পোরেট কেলেঙ্কারির ‘তকমা’ পেয়েছিল। পরে সিবিআই কর্তারা জানান, আসলে ওই অঙ্ক ১৪ হাজার কোটি টাকার কাছাকাছি।
অথচ গল্পের গতিবেগ, তার লক্ষ্য সেদিকে এগোচ্ছিল না।
রাজু ছিলেন তথ্যপ্রযুক্তি শিল্পের আইকন। সেখান থেকে জালিয়াতির অভিযোগে জেলযাত্রী হয়ে ওঠেন নিমেষে। মার্কিন প্রেসিডেন্ট বিল ক্লিন্টনের প্রশংসা কুড়নো থেকে প্রতারণা ও ফৌজদারি চক্রান্তের ধারায় অভিযুক্ত।
হার্ভার্ড বিজনেস স্কুলের এই প্রাক্তনীর এমন উল্কার গতিতে পতন রীতিমতো চমকে দেওয়ার মতো।
বিংশ শতাব্দীর শেষ দিকে ‘ওয়াই-টু-কে’ সমস্যা নিয়ে তোলপাড় হচ্ছিল তথ্যপ্রযুক্তি দুনিয়া। আশঙ্কা তৈরি হয়েছিল যে, ২০০০ সাল এলেই তার শেষ দুই অক্ষর ‘০০’-কে ১৯০০ সালের শেষ দু’অক্ষরের থেকে আলাদা করে চিনতে পারবে না কম্পিউটার।
ফলে হারিয়ে যাবে বিপুল তথ্য। সমস্যা তৈরি হবে দুনিয়া জুড়ে। এই সমস্যার সমাধান খুঁজেই দ্রুত উঠে আসে সত্যম।
হয়ে ওঠে দেশের চতুর্থ বৃহত্তম তথ্যপ্রযুক্তি সংস্থা।
কিন্তু ২০০০ সাল পেরোনোর কিছু পর থেকেই বরাতে ভাটা শুরু হয়। তখনই সংখ্যায় ওই কারচুপি শুরু করেন রাজু। সঙ্গে জমি ব্যবসায় রাতারাতি মুনাফার লোভও ডোবায় তাঁকে।
তিনি তখন নিজেই বলেছিলেন, ‘‘বাঘের পিঠে চড়ে বসেছি। প্রাণ না-খুইয়ে কী ভাবে নামব, জানা নেই।’’
আর লগ্নিকারীরা?
যেখানে সৎ পথে বড় জোর আট শতাংশ সুদ মিলে, সেখানে সত্যমের মতো সংস্থা কী ভাবে চার বৎসরে লগ্নি দ্বিগুণ করে দিতে পারে, এই প্রশ্নটি না করার মধ্যে বিপুল দায়িত্বজ্ঞানহীনতা আছে।
লোভ বস্তুটি গরিবের একচেটিয়া নয়।
এ বইয়ের গল্পের বুনোট আঁটোসাঁটো। বুদ্ধি এবং তির্যকতার মিশেলে উপভোগ্যও। তবে খামতি একেবারেই নেই, তা নয়। রাজুর ব্যক্তিগত জীবন সংক্রান্ত আরও অধিক তথ্য আশা করছিলাম। খানিক তাল কাটে। এক বাটি দুধে এক ফোঁটা চোনার মতোই।
তবুও পাঁচে পাঁচই দেবো।
সাধারণ পাঠক মন এবং মস্তিষ্ক দিয়ে সমাধান খোঁজেন; এ ভাবে ভাবনাকে উস্কে দেওয়াই তো লেখকের দক্ষতা; যা সফল ভাবেই উপস্থিত এ বইয়ে।
অসম্ভব বুদ্ধিমত্তার পরিচয় দিয়ে লেখক বলছেন: "Ramalinga Raju is not the only financial fraudster to be exposed in India. Every ten years or so, a major financial scandal breaks in the country. But in the sheer audacity and nature of the fraud, Raju outdid the earlier scams of Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parekh. The scale of Raju’s con is large by Indian standards, but perhaps not so by global reckoning. This, of course, does not absolve Raju of the crime he committed..."
পড়তে পারেন। মন্দ লাগবে না।
Author: Kingshuk Nag
Publisher: Collins (21 October 2009)
Language: English
Paperback: 196 pages
Item Weight: 159 g
Dimensions: 13.97 x 1.19 x 21.59 cm
Country of Origin: India
Price: 296/-
"Somewhere down the line, as Raju was building his empire, his ambition got the better of him. He seemed to have lost his sense of right and wrong and his sense of balance, and began to think that the ends justified the means.
Even after attending Harvard Business School, he did not foresee that he could not possibly go undetected forever for cooking up his balance sheets to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees.
Raju’s story is also illustrative in the sense that it displays how a person exposed to the modern world could be propelled by feudal factors and carried away by tribal instincts. Raju lusted for land as if that was the only productive asset he had. For him the whole world revolved around his own immediate family and the Raju community..."
ননফিকশন, থ্রিলার-ধর্মী বইয়ে পাঠকের সমস্ত মনোযোগ থাকে রহস্যের উদ্ঘাটনের দিকেই। কিন্তু এ গল্প শুধু অপরাধ এবং রহস্যভেদ নিয়ে নয়।
মনস্তত্ত্ব এ গল্পের মজ্জায় মজ্জায়।
অসাধু সংস্থায় টাকা লগ্নি করে সেদিন যাঁরা নিঃস্ব, তাঁরা স্বখাতসলিলে ডুবেছিলেন। লোভ তাঁদের ডুবিয়েছিল।
সেই তৃতীয় রিপু। অর্থবান হওয়ার লোভ, সচ্ছলতার লোভ।
ভাল থাকতে চাওয়ার মধ্যে কোনও অন্যায় নেই। বস্তুত, ওই আদিম রিপুটির তাগিদেই মানবসভ্যতা অগ্রসর হয়েছে। কিন্তু, ভাল থাকবার ইচ্ছা এক কথা, তাহর জন্য কাণ্ডজ্ঞানবিস্মৃত হওয়া আর এক।
এই গল্পের কোনও নায়ক নেই। আছেন এক কেন্দ্রীয় চরিত্র। নাম রামালিঙ্গা রাজু।
জমি অধিগ্রহনের লোভ লোকটাকে সপ্তনরক হাফিয়া দোজখে নিয়ে গিয়ে ফেললো।
২০০৯ সালে প্রথম সামনে এসেছিল দেশের কর্পোরেট জগতের অন্যতম বৃহৎ এই আর্থিক কেলেঙ্কারি।
জালিয়াতি স্বীকার করে সেবিকে চিঠি দিয়েছিলেন রামলিঙ্গ রাজু। তার পরই তদন্ত শুরু করে সেবি। সাড়ে ৫ বছর ধরে তদন্তের পর এ দিন ৬৫ পাতার নির্দেশে তারা জানিয়েছে, সত্যমে জালিয়াতির পরিমাণ ১২,০০০ কোটি টাকারও বেশি।
পাঁচ জনের বেআইনি মুনাফা ১,৮৪৯ কোটি টাকা।
তদন্তে প্রকাশ, কয়েক বছর ধরে নিয়মিত জালিয়াতি চালিয়েছিলেন রাজু-সহ ওই কর্তারা। বাড়িয়ে দেখানো হয় সত্যমের লাভ ও নগদের পরিমাণ। সংস্থার দায়-সহ অন্যান্য তথ্যও জাল করা হয়। এর ফলে ক্ষতির মুখে পড়েন সাধারণ লগ্নিকারীরা।
লেখক বলছেন: "Raju’s story is not merely about rapacious land acquisition – it is also about how he pawned his shareholding in Satyam as well as in his construction company, Maytas Infra, and how he allegedly siphoned off funds from both companies, to satisfy his craving. While the Russian peasant never broke the law, Raju thought nothing of doing so.
লোকটার ঠিক কতটা জমি ছিল শুনবেন পাঠক? লেখক বলছেন :
"By the time he went behind bars, Raju, along with his family members, was officially the owner of 6,800 acres (9,000 acres, according to unofficial estimates) of prime land in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Nagpur, among other places. While most of it lay vacant, Raju was developing high-end commercial and housing spaces in some areas."
জমির অর্থমূল্য ঠিক কতটা? লেখক বলছেন :
"It is difficult to put a value to this land, but Raju had on record estimated the value of his 6,800 acres at Rs 6,500 crore. By the same logic, 9,000 acres (the unofficial figure) would add up to more than Rs 8,500 crore. Even if one assumes that Raju had overestimated his land worth by 50 per cent, the value of his landholdings would be approximately Rs 4,000 crore."
সত্যম কেলেঙ্কারির প্রধান অভিযুক্ত বি রামলিঙ্গ রাজু ও তাঁর ভাই বি রাম রাজুকে সাত বছর সশ্রম কারাদণ্ডের আদেশ দেন বিশেষ আদালত। সঙ্গে সাড়ে পাঁচ কোটি টাকার জরিমানা। আদালত সাত বছরের জন্য জেলে যাওয়ার রায় দেন সংস্থার প্রাক্তন সিএফও বদলামণি শ্রীনিবাস, প্রাইসওয়াটারহাউস কুপার্সের তরফে প্রাক্তন হিসাব পরীক্ষক (অডিটর) এস গোপালকৃষ্ণন এবং টি শ্রীনিবাস সমেত আরও ৮ জনকে। সেই সঙ্গে ২৫ লক্ষ টাকা পর্যন্ত জরিমানাও দিতে বলা হয় তাঁদের।
কেমন জালিয়াতি? তার ইতিহাস কী ?
লেখক কিংশুক নাগ বইটিকে ভাগ করেছেন দশটি অধ্যায়ে :
1. The Confession
2. An Uproar Nixes a Merger
3. A Scheme Is Hatched
4. The Journey to the Top
5. The Realty Show
6. Derailed by a Rail Deal
7. The Great Siphoning Off
8. A Bundle of Contradictions
9. Crown Jewel of the Mahindras
10. Epilogue: Two Years After the Scam, Justice on a Slow Burn
২০০৯ সালের জানুয়ারিতে রামলিঙ্গ রাজুর বিস্ফোরক ই-মেল স্বীকারোক্তির পরেই সামনে আসে সত্যম কেলেঙ্কারি। সেখানে তিনি স্বীকার করেন যে, বছরের পর বছর সত্যমের ব্যবসা, বরাত ও মুনাফার অঙ্ক বাড়িয়ে দেখিয়েছেন তাঁরা।
তখন ৭,৮০০ কোটির ওই আর্থিক জালিয়াতি দেশের বৃহত্তম কর্পোরেট কেলেঙ্কারির ‘তকমা’ পেয়েছিল। পরে সিবিআই কর্তারা জানান, আসলে ওই অঙ্ক ১৪ হাজার কোটি টাকার কাছাকাছি।
অথচ গল্পের গতিবেগ, তার লক্ষ্য সেদিকে এগোচ্ছিল না।
রাজু ছিলেন তথ্যপ্রযুক্তি শিল্পের আইকন। সেখান থেকে জালিয়াতির অভিযোগে জেলযাত্রী হয়ে ওঠেন নিমেষে। মার্কিন প্রেসিডেন্ট বিল ক্লিন্টনের প্রশংসা কুড়নো থেকে প্রতারণা ও ফৌজদারি চক্রান্তের ধারায় অভিযুক্ত।
হার্ভার্ড বিজনেস স্কুলের এই প্রাক্তনীর এমন উল্কার গতিতে পতন রীতিমতো চমকে দেওয়ার মতো।
বিংশ শতাব্দীর শেষ দিকে ‘ওয়াই-টু-কে’ সমস্যা নিয়ে তোলপাড় হচ্ছিল তথ্যপ্রযুক্তি দুনিয়া। আশঙ্কা তৈরি হয়েছিল যে, ২০০০ সাল এলেই তার শেষ দুই অক্ষর ‘০০’-কে ১৯০০ সালের শেষ দু’অক্ষরের থেকে আলাদা করে চিনতে পারবে না কম্পিউটার।
ফলে হারিয়ে যাবে বিপুল তথ্য। সমস্যা তৈরি হবে দুনিয়া জুড়ে। এই সমস্যার সমাধান খুঁজেই দ্রুত উঠে আসে সত্যম।
হয়ে ওঠে দেশের চতুর্থ বৃহত্তম তথ্যপ্রযুক্তি সংস্থা।
কিন্তু ২০০০ সাল পেরোনোর কিছু পর থেকেই বরাতে ভাটা শুরু হয়। তখনই সংখ্যায় ওই কারচুপি শুরু করেন রাজু। সঙ্গে জমি ব্যবসায় রাতারাতি মুনাফার লোভও ডোবায় তাঁকে।
তিনি তখন নিজেই বলেছিলেন, ‘‘বাঘের পিঠে চড়ে বসেছি। প্রাণ না-খুইয়ে কী ভাবে নামব, জানা নেই।’’
আর লগ্নিকারীরা?
যেখানে সৎ পথে বড় জোর আট শতাংশ সুদ মিলে, সেখানে সত্যমের মতো সংস্থা কী ভাবে চার বৎসরে লগ্নি দ্বিগুণ করে দিতে পারে, এই প্রশ্নটি না করার মধ্যে বিপুল দায়িত্বজ্ঞানহীনতা আছে।
লোভ বস্তুটি গরিবের একচেটিয়া নয়।
এ বইয়ের গল্পের বুনোট আঁটোসাঁটো। বুদ্ধি এবং তির্যকতার মিশেলে উপভোগ্যও। তবে খামতি একেবারেই নেই, তা নয়। রাজুর ব্যক্তিগত জীবন সংক্রান্ত আরও অধিক তথ্য আশা করছিলাম। খানিক তাল কাটে। এক বাটি দুধে এক ফোঁটা চোনার মতোই।
তবুও পাঁচে পাঁচই দেবো।
সাধারণ পাঠক মন এবং মস্তিষ্ক দিয়ে সমাধান খোঁজেন; এ ভাবে ভাবনাকে উস্কে দেওয়াই তো লেখকের দক্ষতা; যা সফল ভাবেই উপস্থিত এ বইয়ে।
অসম্ভব বুদ্ধিমত্তার পরিচয় দিয়ে লেখক বলছেন: "Ramalinga Raju is not the only financial fraudster to be exposed in India. Every ten years or so, a major financial scandal breaks in the country. But in the sheer audacity and nature of the fraud, Raju outdid the earlier scams of Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parekh. The scale of Raju’s con is large by Indian standards, but perhaps not so by global reckoning. This, of course, does not absolve Raju of the crime he committed..."
পড়তে পারেন। মন্দ লাগবে না।
April 7, 2013
No footnotes, No quotes, No Proof, Reads like a Hack Job.
The book is like an extended TOI article.
The book is like an extended TOI article.
June 16, 2013
Narrates the entire scandal in a very interesting and suspense-filled manner!
October 31, 2025
The book talks about the unearthing of the Satyam scam, and the background of it.
Though doesn't describe the technicalities of the scandal in detail, it gives an overall picture of what happened and how public money was siphoned off. It shows how funds from Satyam were siphoned off into real estate for personal benefits.
More interestingly, it nicely captures how corporate and political nexus works, how policies which might look so naive and well intentional outside, can be a well thought out plan to unduly benefit some sections, how silencing honest officers at different stages will have longterm repercussions on the public at large.
Also, it shows how no matter how skillfully or masterfully siphoning of funds is planned, sooner or later, it eventually comes out.
Though doesn't describe the technicalities of the scandal in detail, it gives an overall picture of what happened and how public money was siphoned off. It shows how funds from Satyam were siphoned off into real estate for personal benefits.
More interestingly, it nicely captures how corporate and political nexus works, how policies which might look so naive and well intentional outside, can be a well thought out plan to unduly benefit some sections, how silencing honest officers at different stages will have longterm repercussions on the public at large.
Also, it shows how no matter how skillfully or masterfully siphoning of funds is planned, sooner or later, it eventually comes out.
July 21, 2014
A strongly biased ex-post story about the Satyam saga.
Likes:
Sayam Infoway and the origins of Satyam
That Raju was a soft-spoken, nice, person according to quite a few people.
That Raju set up a decent social upliftment organisation.
That Raju was also supposed to be a workaholic
That NBFCs were stupid enough to lend to Raju against his shares thinking that there was enough collateral
That Raju had a very small shareholding in the company but still controlled it
And that the Satyam IPO created 82% non-promoter shareholders
That Maytas grew so rapidly and soon had most of Raju's time.
The red flags are of particular importance.
Likes:
Sayam Infoway and the origins of Satyam
That Raju was a soft-spoken, nice, person according to quite a few people.
That Raju set up a decent social upliftment organisation.
That Raju was also supposed to be a workaholic
That NBFCs were stupid enough to lend to Raju against his shares thinking that there was enough collateral
That Raju had a very small shareholding in the company but still controlled it
And that the Satyam IPO created 82% non-promoter shareholders
That Maytas grew so rapidly and soon had most of Raju's time.
The red flags are of particular importance.
June 7, 2011
The inside story of a successful brand that became a victim of greed of its own founder.
September 28, 2012
Highly recommended for anybody inetersted in Satyam Scam.
July 31, 2016
A relatively lesser known book, but it deserves better. A good one if you are interested in Satyam's fraud. Recommended.
November 8, 2016
I would definitely recommend this book to read for those who has seen Ramalinga Raju as God. Not sure if this is too biased story but definitely shown the life of Raju no less than a filmy style.
November 12, 2016
Nicely written book.
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