Former Satyam Chairman Arrested

The auditing firm said in the statement that they had worked "in accordance with applicable auditing standards and were supported by appropriate audit evidence."

"Given our obligations for client confidentiality, it is not possible for us to comment upon the alleged irregularities. Price Waterhouse will fully meet its obligations to cooperate with the regulators and others," the statement said.

The international accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd., is based in London.

Beginning Monday, the Bombay Stock Exchange will replace Satyam with Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd. on India's benchmark Sensex stock index.

Top Satyam executives have struggled to reassure investors, employees and clients since news of the scandal broke.

Satyam Computer Services Ltd employs 53,000 people -- among the 2 million Indians working in the country's booming high-tech industry, which last year brought in an estimated $40 billion. Satyam's clients include a slew of Fortune 500 companies including Nestle, General Electric and Ford Motors.

Ram Mynampati, the company's interim head, said the company's top executives relied on audited accounts and were "shocked" by Raju's admissions.

The company's chief financial officer V. Srinivas resigned Thursday.

Meanwhile, Archana Uttapa, a company spokeswoman, denied Indian media reports that Satyam was considering firing 10,000 of its 53,000 employees.

"There is no such move," she said.

Employee salaries have been paid through December and cleared for the month of January as well, she told The Associated Press.

The scandal comes at a delicate time for India's information technology companies, which are struggling against a global slowdown and waning economic growth at home. India's IT firms derive 40% of their global revenues from financial services clients.