SFIO
Definition
Serious Fraud Investigation Office: a statutory body under India's Ministry of Corporate Affairs that investigates corporate frauds under the Companies Act 2013. It has power to arrest, prosecute, and file charge sheets before Special Courts designated for company-law offences.
- Full name
- Serious Fraud Investigation Office
- Authority
- Statutory body under India's Ministry of Corporate Affairs
- Powers
- Can arrest, prosecute, and file charge sheets before Special Courts
Common questions
What does SFIO do?+
SFIO investigates complex corporate frauds under India's Companies Act 2013. It can arrest suspects, prosecute them, and file charge sheets before Special Courts designated for company-law offences.
Who created SFIO and where?+
SFIO is a statutory body under India's Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Its current powers derive from the Companies Act 2013, and the office was accelerated by the Satyam scandal.
What makes SFIO different from other investigators?+
SFIO is a multi-disciplinary body, meaning it brings together experts from different fields to handle the complex investigations that white-collar fraud requires.
Related terms
- Confession as discovery trigger
- Unlike Enron and WorldCom, which were uncovered by auditors, journalists, or internal whistleblowers, Satyam was exposed by the chairman's voluntary confession letter....
- ED (Enforcement Directorate)
- India's Enforcement Directorate investigates economic offences under FEMA and the PMLA 2002. Its primary tools are property attachment under PMLA and prosecution...
- Forensic audit
- An examination of an organisation's financial records and systems conducted specifically to gather evidence for legal proceedings. Distinguished from a regular audit...
- Mark-to-market accounting
- Recognising the fair value of a contract or asset on the balance sheet rather than historical cost. Enron applied mark-to-market to long-term...
- Parallel proceedings
- Simultaneous civil and criminal proceedings arising from the same underlying facts, often before different tribunals. A company may face a civil SEC...
- PCAOB
- Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, established by SOX to set auditing standards and inspect audit firms performing public-company audits. It replaced the...
- PMLA attachment
- Under India's Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002, the ED can provisionally attach property believed to be proceeds of crime before any...
- Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)
- US federal legislation enacted in July 2002 in direct response to Enron and WorldCom. Its key provisions include CEO/CFO certification of financial...
- SEC
- The US Securities and Exchange Commission: the federal regulator for securities markets. It has civil enforcement powers, can seek disgorgement, civil penalties,...
- SFO
- The UK Serious Fraud Office: a department of the Crown that both investigates and prosecutes serious and complex fraud, bribery, and corruption....
Explained in these topics
- Case Studies: Enron, WorldCom, and SatyamSerious Fraud Investigation Office, a multi-disciplinary body under India's Ministry of Corporate Affairs created to investigate complex corporate fraud. Its c...
- Regulatory Investigations: SFIO, ED, and Comparative FrameworksSerious Fraud Investigation Office: a statutory body under India's Ministry of Corporate Affairs that investigates corporate frauds under the Companies Act 201...