The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday froze Rs 822 crore worth of fixed deposits of Mahindra Satyam (formerly Satyam Computers Services Ltd).

An ED official confirmed that FDs held by Mahindra Satyam at Andhra Bank, IDBI Bank Ltd, ING Vysya Bank Ltd and Bank of Baroda, were 'proceeds of crime' derived out of scheduled offences committed by B. Ramalinga Raju and his associates.

The ED said in a statement, "Since this amount subsists with Satyam and constitutes a part of the loans derived or obtained by pledging of inflated Satyam shares, it falls within the mischief of proceeds of crime under the PMLA."

The ED also said that all the concerned banks, Mahindra Satyam, as well as the accused had been notified of attachment of the FDs.

Vasant Krishnan, chief financial officer at Mahindra Satyam, assured shareholders that the attachment should not hamper or impair the company's ability to continue its day-to-day operations.

Nevertheless, news of attachment of the FDs by the ED dragged shares in Mahindra Satyam down by more than 2.6 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The stock ended the Thursday trading 1 per cent down at Rs 109 per share.

As per the ED, Ramalinga Raju and his associates had conspired by continuously publishing falsified books of accounts between 2001 and 2008 to lure investors into buying shares.