India's Satyam fraud trial to begin soon

The trial of those accused in India's biggest corporate scandal involving former outsourcing giant Satyam, is set to begin in a month, said a report Friday quoting an investigator.

On December 9, a court will hear formal charges of fraud to the tune of $US3 billion ($3.29 billion) against Satyam company founder B. Ramalinga Raju and nine others, business daily Mint reported, with proceedings proper beginning later in the month.

"The CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) is ready for the trials in the case and expects the trial to begin in the next three-four weeks," an unnamed CBI official was quoted as saying.

The report comes after the CBI this week filed new charges against Raju, his brother and eight other people.

In January, Raju stunned India's financial world by declaring he had overstated profits for years and inflated the company's balance sheet.

Satyam was ranked as India's fourth-largest information technology services group by revenues when the scandal broke. Its clients included some of the world's biggest companies such as Nestle, General Electric and General Motors.

All suspects were placed in custody on charges of conspiracy, cheating, forgery and falsification of accounts. The Satyam founder is in hospital being treated for cardiac problems and hepatitis, while the rest are in jail.

The suspects had allegedly used various methods to swindle money including forging board resolutions to illegally obtain loans, using fake invoices to get money and falsifying other accounts.

In April, Satyam was taken over by the mid-sized Indian computer outsourcer Tech Mahindra, part of leading Indian vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra for nearly $US600 million.