The Serious Fraud Investigation Office is also known as (SFIO) is a statutory corporate fraud investigating body located in India. It was established by a resolution adopted by the Government of India on 2 July 2003, to carry out investigations in the legal framework under section 235 to 247 of the erstwhile Companies Act, 1956. After a few years, Section 211 of the Companies Act, 2013, granted the statutory status to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO). It is under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India & primarily supervised by officers from Indian Administrative Service, Indian Corporate Law Service, Indian Police Service, Indian Revenue Service and other Central Services. The organisation includes experts from many financial sector areas. The SFIO is authorised to conduct Multi-disciplinary investigations of major corporate frauds.
It is a multi-disciplinary organisation that has experts from the financial sector, capital market, accountancy, taxation forensic audit, law, company law, information technology, customs and investigation. These experts are recruited from various organisations like banks, SEBI, Comptroller and Auditor General and concerned departments and organisations of the Government. Upon the recommendation of Naresh Chandra Committee on corporate governance (set up by the Government on 21 August 2002) and the backdrop of stock market scams and the failure of non-banking companies which resulted in a massive financial loss to the public, Vajpayee Government decided to set up SFIO on 9 January 2003.
Organisation structure
The agency’s headquarters are located in New Delhi, with field offices located in major cities across India. The SFIO recruits most of its officers from the IAS, IPS, ICLS, IRS and banks and other central services. The director of SFIO is Amardeep Singh Bhatia (IAS). Many additional, joint and deputy director officers come from ministry’s parent cadre, the Indian Corporate Law Service.
Many individuals and corporates are falling in the trap of white-collar criminals. In India, fraud is a criminal offence, and an individual may seek damages by filing a civil petition. At Tripaksha Litigation, we understand how fraudsters have to be taken to task. We help our clients to pursue and recover criminal matters both from defence and prosecution. Our vast experience in handling white-collar crimes help us in to give the best possible remedy to our clients. We are frequently engaged as trial and local counsel in various High Courts and Supreme Court of India, and work in conjunction with other Advocates and share our years of experience which deal with practices and procedures of Supreme Court of India and High Courts.
This prospect keeps developing day by day, and it contains many regulations. Corporate law is bound by five significant characteristics that include the legal personality of an entity, transfer of shares, limited liability, delegated management under a board structure, and investor ownership. Corporate law governs businesses and companies to ensure that there is a legally guided approach towards the fulfilled achievement of the five characteristics, as mentioned above. A company needs to have a proper internal control system to safeguard its shareholders and stakeholders. Besides the directors of the company, only appropriate regulations can guide companies in this manner.