Hyderabad HC sets aside ED order attaching Rs 822 crore fixed deposits of Tech Mahindra

HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad High Court Monday set aside an Enforcement Directorate order provisionally attaching fixed deposits worth Rs 822 crore belonging to Tech Mahindra.

The Enforcement Directorate in 2012 provisionally attached the fixed deposits under Section 5 (1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002, before Tech Mahindra formally took over scam-hit Satyam Computers.

The ED attached the amount alleging that it was ill-gotten proceeds of Satyam Computers.

A bench comprising Justices V Ramasubramanian and J Uma Devi set aside the ED's order.

Counsel for Tech Mahindra Vivek Reddy told PTI that they argued that there was no money with the fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services Ltd in 2009, when it was taken over and the Mahindra group company infused the amount to revive the Ramalinga Raju-founded company.

On January 7, 2009, Raju in his capacity as chairman had sent an email to SEBI, wherein he admitted and confessed to inflating the books of Satyam besides understating liabilities and other financial misstatements.

After the fraud came to light, the government ordered auction of the company to protect investors and employees of the then fourth-largest IT firm.

Satyam was acquired by Tech Mahindra, and then was renamed Mahindra Satyam and was eventually merged with Tech Mahindra.