Lax rules still problem in wake of Satyam fraud

MUMBAI, India: One year after the founder of Satyam Computer Services made an astonishing confession to the largest fraud in Indian corporate history, many say that what really sets R Ramalinga Raju apart is not his malfeasance, but the fact that he got caught.

"To think there aren't other companies that dabble in less than forthright practices, to believe that other companies are not doing this kind of thing is naive," said Sharmila Gopinath, research manager at Hong Kong's Asian Corporate Governance Association.

The group released a 55-page white paper on Indian corporate governance yesterday, which suggests that many of the conditions that helped facilitate Raju's $2.5 billion fraud still exist, despite efforts to reform.