Top Satyam [Get Quote] executives accelerated sales of their shares in the company in close to three months before the company's aborted December 16 bid to buy two developers controlled by Ramalinga Raju's family.

Five executives reaped Rs 2.5 crore (Rs 25 million) from a combined sale of 106,000 shares from October 1 to December 16, according to data posted on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The shares were sold in 16 transactions.

A S Murty, Satyam's new CEO, sold 40,000 shares in two transactions on December 12 and 16 for Rs 90 lakh (Rs 9 million). His percentage holding now stands at 0.01 per cent after this transaction.

Manish Mehta, Satyam's global head of SA, sold shares on seven occasions starting November 28 to December 15. His holding now stands at 0.03 per cent. Similarly, K Sriram, vice- president of Collaborative Enterprise Solutions, sold 13,000 shares in four transactions between October 21 and December 11. His holding after the last transaction came down to nil.

Analysts said that these five executives sold shares at a time when the stock price had already started sliding due to the overall slowdown in the markets.

However, former chief financial officer Vadlamani Srinivas, who is now in jail, made no such mistake. He sold 92,358 shares in two transactions in September and pocketed Rs 3.07 crore (Rs 30.7 million).

Ram Mynampati, the dislodged interim CEO of the company, sold 25,000 shares on June 4 when Satyam's stock price was ruling at Rs 486. Mynampati got richer by Rs 1.21 crore (Rs 12.1 million) on that day.