Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India asked promoters of listed companies on Wednesday to disclose if they have pledged shares with lenders, while saying it has had no luck in determining the real size of the Satyam Computer Services [Get Quote] fraud. The regulator's announcement on disclosure of pledged shares comes in the wake of the Satyam scam, wherein promoter Ramalinga Raju had pledged nearly all his shares -- whose prices he had inflated by falsifying profits.
The details of disclosure, which should be made in two stages -- event-based and periodical -- will be notified shortly after amending the relevant regulations and listing agreements, Sebi chairman C B Bhave told reporters after the board meeting in Mumbai.
Although Raju disclosed that the fraud was to the tune of Rs 7,800 crore (Rs 78-billion), a Sebi team that landed in Hyderabad on January 8 has not been able to access him to verify his claim.
Raju, his brother Rama Raju and Satyam's former chief financial officer Vadlamani Srinivas were arrested on January 9 and sent to police custody on January 18.
The police are seeking extension of custody and their plea would be decided tomorrow by a Hyderabad court, which would also determine if the Sebi team can interrogate Raju.
Bhave said the board meeting also reviewed the progress made so far in the investigations in the matter of Satyam.
The regulator is yet to launch any formal investigation into the alleged irregularities in Raju family-owned Maytas Infra, he said.
"We haven't yet formally ordered any investigation on Maytas Infra," Bhave said.
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