Cognizant-L&T bribery case: Will US govt’s ‘essential witness’ be able to testify?

Bengaluru: Less than five weeks before the US trial of a six-year-old case begins to determine whether two former executives of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTS) routed illicit payments through Larsen and Toubro Ltd to unnamed Indian government officials, it is unclear if an ex-Cognizant executive, the US government’s “essential witness" will travel to testify when the case starts on 3 March.

The testimony of Srimanikandan Ramamoorthy, 51, a Chennai resident termed an essential witness by the US Department of Justice, is critical, according to two lawyers directly privy to the case proceedings, as he is the only witness said to have discussed the alleged $2 million bribe payment with executives of L&T and former executives of Cognizant.

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Court documents reviewed by Mint show that Ramamoorthy, who signed a non-prosecution agreement with the US authorities in January 2019 and has since turned approver, has shared emails, many of which were marked to L&T executives, including current chairman S.N. Subrahmanyan, detailing how the bribe payments were orchestrated.

Subrahmanyan was the head of L&T’s construction business in 2014 when some company employees are alleged to have paid $2 million in bribes to unnamed Tamil Nadu government officials to speed up approvals to build Cognizant’s office campuses in Chennai.

‘Active connivance’

“The scrutiny of email communications between L&T and CTS show the active connivance of the accused K. Kannan, business unit head; M.V. Satish, executive vice president and head, building and factories; and S.N. Subrahmanyan, construction head of L&T in the demand and engagement of third party liaison consultant to hand over the demanded bribe amount to officials of CMDA (Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority) and the officials of the Housing and Urban Development to get the planning permit," reads a complaint filed by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption department of Tamil Nadu.

Mint reviewed a dossier dated 20 January that includes the complaint copy and Ramamoorthy’s request to the Enforcement Directorate, dated 26 December, to allow him to travel to the US next month for five weeks. He sought ED approval since the agency is investigating him, Subrahmanyan and seven other executives.

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“If/when this matter goes to trial in March 2025, the US government’s case, and Mr. Ramamoorthy’s expected testimony, will not only be directly at odds with SNS’s (S.N. Subrahmanyan) testimony, but also incriminating and reputationally damaging for SNS and L&T," said a lawyer directly privy to the developments of this case.

“As the matter is sub-judice before court, as a responsible corporate, we do not wish to comment anything at this stage. However, the allegation made against L&T and few of its executives are incorrect, baseless and motivated," said a spokesperson for L&T.

Ramamoorthy, who has signed an agreement with the US authorities not to make a public statement, did not reply to a questionnaire sent by Mint on Tuesday. An email sent to the Enforcement Directorate did not elicit a response.

Not party to proceedings

Subrahmanyan is not a party to the ongoing US court proceedings. He and L&T have denied any wrongdoing in the past. Still, that has not stopped US officials from questioning Subrahmanyan.

On 21 May, 2018, Subrahmanyan was “formally interviewed" in Singapore by officials from the US Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Subrahmanyan told the US officials that he “does not remember discussing the planning permit" and did not hear anything about a “request from a government official for improper payment", Mint wrote in its edition dated 7 August 2023.

The biggest uncertainty for the trial remains whether Ramamoorthy will travel to the US.

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“We represent Steven Schwartz… seeking clarity on the availability for trial of the government’s self-described “essential witness," Srimanikandan Ramamoorthy, and whether and how the government intends to proceed if he is not available to testify," Roberto Finzi, the defense counsel for Schwartz, the former chief legal officer of Cognizant, wrote in a letter, dated 13 January, to the judge presiding over the case in a New Jersey court.

“With trial fast approaching, defendants are unaware of any information suggesting that the investigations involving Mr. Ramamoorthy in India have been resolved, let alone that Mr. Ramamoorthy has received assurances from the Indian authorities that he may travel to the United States to testify."

Willing to travel

“To be clear, as communicated to defendants as recently as December 26, 2024, Mr. Ramamoorthy has been, and remains, willing to travel to the United States to testify at trial," Chief Acting US Attorney Vikas Khanna wrote in a letter dated 14 January.

“The government is working under the expectation that Mr. Ramamoorthy will be present at trial and is preparing accordingly… Indeed, as defendants well know, there is no possible way for the government to ever provide absolute certainty with respect to its witnesses, and it is not uncommon for information about witnesses’ whereabouts to be withheld from defendants," said Khanna.

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In 2019, Cognizant agreed to pay $25 million to settle this investigation case with US authorities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. However, the US Department of Justice charged former Cognizant chief operating officer Gordon Coburn and Schwartz with approving the bribes, marking the start of the ongoing case.

Both have denied any wrongdoing.