The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) - the regulatory body for CAs in the country - has suo motu initiated disciplinary proceedings against the Indian arm of global auditing firm Price Waterhouse, the auditors for Satyam Computer Services (SATYAM.BO : 39.95 -139.15). Meanwhile, shocked at the audacity of the Satyam management team to have successfully pulled off a fraud of such magnitude, corporate affairs minister Premchand Gupta today said:

No leniency will be shown towards those who have been found guilty in the fraud committed at Satyam. The ministry said it would refer the case to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO). The case will definitely be referred to SFIO. It is a serious fraud... now all the agencies like stock exchanges, Sebi, Company Law Board and Registrar of Companies should make a coordinated effort, a senior official from the ministry of corporate affairs said.

The ministry has given the RoC a deadline of January 14 for submitting a report on Ramalinga Raju s statement today. The company s chairman admitted that the company s books were fudged.

We will seek all relevant information and documents from the Sebi, the corporate affairs ministry and the RoC. The maximum punishment that could be meted out is cancellation of license for lifetime and a penalty of Rs 5 lakh, said Agarwal.