It’s the one Forbes list where none would want to figure, but Ramalinga Raju, the founder-chairman of Satyam Computers (now Mahindra Satyam), has managed the feat of being among the world's 10 most outrageous CEOs.
Mr. Raju has been ranked as the world’s fourth most outrageous CEO in 2009 on the list compiled by the Forbes, known for its rankings of the richest and the most powerful the world over.
Giving Mr. Raju company are Sri Lankan-origin American hedge fund manager Raj Rajarathnam (third), former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain (second) and Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein (first).
Mr. Raju, the only Indian on the list dominated by Americans, owes his place on the list to his disclosure in January about committing the country’s biggest ever corporate fraud.
“In January, B Ramalinga Raju, the founder of Satyam Computer Services, confessed to overstating its profits over several years and creating a fictitious cash balance of more than USD 1 billion.
“He confessed to inventing more than 10,000 fictional employees to help him steal money from the company, and using his mother’s name to buy land with the proceeds. The police arrested Mr. Raju, his co-founder and brother, B. Rama Raju, and former CFO Srinivas Vadlamani on charges of cheating, forgery and breach of trust.
