Wipro probes alleged $4 million fraud by employee
Indian outsourcer to decide whether to pursue a criminal case
By John Ribeiro | Published: 10:00, 18 February 2010
Indian outsourcer Wipro said it is investigating the embezzlement of $4 million from the company after an employee allegedly obtained a colleague's online password.
The fraud, which was detected in December, had been going on for about a year, although the company has been able to recover half of the money, a Wipro spokeswoman said.
The company will decide whether to pursue criminal proceedings against the employee, who works in the controllership division of Wipro's finance department, after an internal investigation is completed, a Wipro spokeswoman said. The employee has not been named.
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Wipro described the fraud as an "information security breach" on account of "human intervention". The company will continue to tighten its processes to prevent the misuse of passwords, the spokeswoman said.
After the fraud reported last year at Satyam Computer Services, another Indian outsourcer, Indian companies have focused on improved processes and systems to counter fraud.
Satyam's founder, B. Ramalinga Raju, said in January last year that the company's revenue and profits had been overstated for several years. Investigators allege that Raju and other former executives of the company embezzled money from the company. Raju and others are awaiting trial.
