According to a FOX News report, a senior official of World Bank has admitted that the international software solution vendor was barred last February from all business at the bank for a period of eight years — and that the ban started in September.

The scandal of ultra-sensitive data heists by the company was in news for quite some time but complying with its secrecy policy, the World Bank denied reports. However, Satyam has reacted in a defensive manner to the news, as it has questioned the authenticity of the report.

Recently, it issued a state in which it said, “The story that claims Satyam was involved in an alleged security breach at the World Bank has no validity. Satyam takes this matter very seriously. We hold ourselves to the highest standards in the industry and we take extraordinary care to develop secure networks and IT infrastructure for all our clients.”

The revelation has come at a point when Satyam is already suffering heavy losses in the stock market. From past few days, the company’s stocks have dropped nearly 55 per cent in value. Its investors turned their faces away, as the company decided to acquire Maytas’ distressed real estate and infrastructure industries for $1.6 billion. However, later the company had to revert its decision.

According to the news report, the Satyam case had been turned over to the Justice Department in 2006, as well as to the US Treasury Department. Last week, India’s securities commission also announced that it would investigate Satyam. However, no legal action has been taken against the company yet.