Yesterday we had reported on how SKS Microfinance had sacked its CEO under a shroud of secrecy. We reproduce a letter below (verbatim) we have received from Malini M Byanna, Vikram Akula’s former wife

Dear Sucheta Dalal,

Thank you for having the courage to write such an article, (Moneylife note -  please see: http://www.moneylife.in/article/4/9883.html) finally exposing the truth about Dr Vikram Akula et al and the "corporate governance" issues, or more accurately "power and control" issues, that have been long-standing, dating back to our separation and divorce, which was initiated by our then 8-month-old son being abducted in Chicago, Illinois by his father, his father's family, and members of his company in an effort to preclude me from attending a previously scheduled SKS Foundation board meeting during which I was going to call for formal resolutions to be passed such that SKS Foundation and SKS Education would be under my direct management and purview and SKS Microfinance and SKS Technologies under his.

I had called for the same due to stark differences in the legal, ethical, and fiscal management of the international development company that Dr Vikram Akula claims to have founded, which in fact was established in the Fall of 1999 subsequent to our engagement, with me assembling a Board of Directors for Navariti, Inc., later SKS Foundation, at a time when SKS Microfinance was not flourishing and the so-called founder was ready to pack his bags and move back to the United States.

Moreover, (on) the initial seed money that Dr Vikram Akula claims in various media articles that he and his family single-handedly raised from 350+ individual donors... they were in fact guests attending our lavish $80,000 wedding, primarily paid for by my parents, during which we asked for donations to Navariti, Inc., later SKS Foundation, in lieu of wedding gifts.

Our international development company initially operated out of my parents' home in Schaumburg, Illinois where we later resided as husband and wife, with said donors listed in SKS' 2000 Annual Report which can be found on the Web. See also SKS Foundation Annual Report 2001. Further, Dr Vikram Akula continues to take credit for and reap the benefits of the ideas, intellectual property, and sweat equity of countless individuals who helped take him to the "top of the mountain" because he had them convinced that (he) only had noble and altruistic motives, only for him to push them off the cliff if they dared challenged or opposed him or as and when they no longer had any utility or purpose, myself included.

Said ideas, intellectual property, and sweat equity include but are not limited to the following:

(1) Replicating SKS Microfinance in the 100 poorest districts of India by and through a non-banking finance corporation wherein the beneficiaries would be the largest shareholders, which was my inspiration

(2) The Smart Card project and related software and implementation developed by a McKinsey Consultant with a grant by CGAP of the World Bank, which was the inspiration of SKS Microfinance's former Chartered Accountant, and

(3) The SKS Education and Nutrition Program, for which I had secured a $300,000 earmarked grant from I2 Technologies, which was illegally dipped into while I was abroad without the knowledge and consent of the SKS Foundation Board to cover SKS Microfinance expenses because said program had been bankrupted by its so-called founder by and through unnecessary and wasteful expenditures in furtherance of his political aspirations.

Finally, I wanted to correct some factual errors in your report in that Dr Vikram Akula and I divorced in December 2002 after a protracted 14-month custody battle following the return of our son into my custody, care, and control, just 5 days after he was abducted over Columbus Day Weekend 2001 in a plot and a plan that was hauntingly similar to that which was exacted over Columbus Day Weekend 2009, but this time in India where Dr Vikram Akula, family, and company wield tremendous power and influence due to their money, stature, and political connections. Further, custody has never been disturbed and was, in fact, re-affirmed in August 2005 subsequent to a 604(b) best interests of the child evaluation, and the Family Court of Hyderabad's order granting Dr Vikram Akula guardianship of our son is only interim in nature and is currently under direct appeal in the Supreme Court of India. Therefore, Dr Vikram Akula has not by any means won custody of our son, either in India or in the US, as our case is still pending and (is to be) resolved in both countries.

Thank you and God bless,

Malini M Byanna

(The Former Wife)