Satyam scam verdict? Who cares, Ramalinga Raju continues to stay in business

Following the the conviction and sentencing of former Satyam Computer Services Limited chief Ramalinga Raju it would be easy to think that it was the end of the road for the former IT giant honcho who confessed to the over Rs 4,000 crore scam. But it turns out that while he will be lodged in the Cherlapally Central Prison in Hyderabad as prisoner number 4148, Raju and his family are far from being out of business.

Since he’s been at home since 2011, the former head of what was one of India’s biggest IT firms has reportedly been leading a relatively quiet life, barely stepping out of home and meeting even close friends.

But here’s what he’s been up to:

Property: Raju has been involved in realty since the 1980s and his family continues to dabble in the sector with a stake in formerly owned real estate company  Maytas Properties and reportedly being involved in the running of another. This is apart from owning a land bank in the Medchal area of Hyderabad.

According to a Times of India report , firm Prapurna Properties private limited is run by Raju’s aide KSS Prasad Raju which has kept its projects on hold since the Satyam scam broke in 2009.

However, Raju’s brother Suryanarayana Raju has reportedly been doing the rounds of land bank r owned by the family and a local resident alleged that the family could be now looking to cash in on its land holdings and start more commercial projects.

“This is hot property right now with the price of the land hovering anywhere between Rs 50,000 and Rs 60,000 per square yard,” local resident M Sriram told the newspaper.

The family also owns a 20 percent stake in what was once Maytas Properties Limited that was subsequently sold off to IL&FS. While they aren’t involved in the functioning of the company in any way, the Hill County project had envisioned the building of 840 apartments and 326 bungalows in Hyderabad. The homes were to be priced between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 2.5 crore.

CallHealth Services: Raju had funded the creation of the Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) which had launched 104, 108 ambulance services in Hyderabad. The service may have been handed over to GVK after Raju was implicated in the Satyam scam, but it was cited by Raju and his brother while seeking leniency from the court that was hearing their case.

However, while it exited the emergency care sector, the Raju family is still involved in the running f medical service provider CallHealth Services which has reportedly  been building strength with salaries that are reportedly well above industry rate.  A Times of India report quoted an unnamed source as saying that the company had received Rs 100 crore in investment in 2013 and aims to provide emergency services like ambulances and lab diagnostics. Raju even managed to get one of the former executives at EMRI to join the new venture and reportedly has over 500 employees.

While he may no longer enjoy the high profile that he once did as head of Satyam and may have had to settle for a jail cell instead, his involvement in varied businesses will mean that Raju’s family’s coffers won’t run empty any time soon.