Scam: Wipro changes controllership team after probe

Software major Wipro said on Saturday its internal investigation into embezzlement of funds by a company employee, who allegedly committed suicide after the scam came to light in December last, found that the amounts involved 'were not material'.

The Bangalore-based firm also announced changes in certain key positions in the controllership team, but did not reveal the amount of money involved in the fraud.

Wipro said the probe concluded that 'while the matter should be taken seriously, the amounts embezzled were not material from a financial reporting perspective, given the company's size and scale of its operations'.

Company sources had earlier said the embezzlement was to the tune of Rs 32 crore (Rs 320 million).

The investigation revealed that the embezzlement involved only one employee who transferred funds from company's bank accounts to his personal account in several transactions over a three-year period from November 2006, it said.

The employee was a junior member of the company's controllership team and the embezzlement was first discovered by other employees, Wipro said.

Wipro appointed an internal investigation team into the embezzlement under the direct supervision of the companys Audit Committee, it said.

"The employee who engaged in the embezzlement unfortunately chose to end his life a few weeks after his actions came to light", Wipro said.

The body of Anup Kumar Agarwal (26), who allegedly embezzled funds, was found on railway tracks on Dec 23, according to police.

A chartered accountant by profession, he was assistant manager at Wipro Finance.

Image: Azim Premji