CBI digs up Rajus’ accounts in Mauritius

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, sources told STOI on Saturday. “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.