Satyam scam: ICAI bars 2 CAs, slaps Rs 5 lakh penalty

New Delhi, Dec 7: New Delhi: Accounting regulator ICAI has barred two Lovelock & Lewes auditors from practice for life and slapped a penalty of Rs 5 lakh each on them for their role in the Rs 14,000-crore Satyam accounting scam.

A probe by an ICAI "disciplinary committee has found Chartered Accountants Pulavarthi Siva Prasad and Chintapatla Ravindernath from Lovelock & Lewes guilty of professional misconduct", the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) said in a statement.

"The committee has ordered the removal of the name of these two chartered accountants from the Registers of Members permanently and also imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on both of them (which is the maximum amount as per the Act)," it said.

“The Disciplinary Committee finally noted that there was serious gross negligence on the part of these two chartered accountants in the discharge of their duties as audit team members which carried out the statutory audit of Satyam Computer Services for the period April 1, 2001, to September 30, 2008," the statement said.

Lovelock & Lewes, Kolkata, had an understanding with Price Waterhouse, Bangalore, pursuant to which the former was deputed to carry out the audit of Satyam Computer Services.

The audit of Satyam was appointed in the name of Price Waterhouse, Bangalore.

Price Waterhouse and Lovelock & Lewes could not be contacted for comments.

A massive accounting fraud in IT company Satyam Computer came to light in January 2009 after its founder B Ramalinga Raju admitted to fudging the account books for many years.

PTI