Satyam Computer Services defends securities fraud class action

Client(s) Satyam Computer Services Ltd.

Jones Day is representing Satyam Computer Services Ltd. (n/k/a Mahindra Satyam) in a securities class action filed in the Southern District of New York. Satyam is a prominent Indian IT services company that was listed on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"). In January 2009, in his resignation letter to the board of directors, the former chairman asserted that he had deliberately misstated the Company's accounts for a number of years. In response, the Government of India took him and others into custody and appointed a new board of directors to oversee the affairs of the Company while it was put up for sale in a government-sponsored auction. Tech Mahindra, an Indian telecom and IT company, emerged as the winner in the auction. Jones Day advised Tech Mahindra on its successful acquisition of Satyam and took over the class action representation.

The class action lawsuit is brought by the investors who purchased Satyam American Depository Receipts on the NYSE, and also includes within the alleged class, claims of some investors who purchased Satyam common stock on the Indian stock exchanges. Described by the local press as "the Enron of India," the Satyam scandal is viewed as one of the largest in India's corporate history. In addition to the U.S. class action, there are several ongoing civil and criminal proceedings in the matter in India.

In re Satyam Computer Services Ltd. Securities Litigation, 09-md-2027 (S.D.N.Y. 2009)