Satyameva Jayate (Truth shall triumph)

If you see one cockroach scurrying in the light, there are probably a dozen in the shade. When Satyam (Sanskrit word means truth) board accepted a proposal to buy the family firm (Maytas, no prize for guessing the similarity) of promoters for a whopping $1.6 billion, there was so much hue and cry with people wondering why the board members (including the independent directors) bowed to one man who had barely 5% stake in the company. As it turns out, they were indeed acting in the best interests of the company. An overpaid asset is worth more than a fictitious one. So much for shareholder activism.

It might seem like a double whammy that just when the apocalypse predictions about the world are coming true, there is a big wave of frauds hitting the markets. But as Warren Buffett once said, "You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out". If luck can run out for Bernie Madoff after running a con operation for decades, what hope does Raju (Satyam chairman) have? In fact, there are reports that SEC was indeed warned about scandal as early as November 2005, full two years before the revelation (?!) Who knows if Krishna Palepu, the esteemed Harvard professor, independent director at Satyam and a leading authority on Corporate governance knew this all along? Or for that matter, how did PwC audit a non-existent cash and Bank balances?

Eventually, Satyameva Jayate. But be wary when you switch on the light just yet.