SFIO meet over corporate fraud

The Serious Fraud Investigation Office, which has been at the forefront of investigations into the Satyam scam, is gearing up its investigation machinery to contain corporate frauds.

The agency is expected to host a meeting on Thursday, which will see countrywide participation of experts from various investigation agencies.

The meeting, scheduled to be held in Delhi, will see experts from various agencies like the Securities & Exchange Board of India, Reserve Bank of India, CBI, ICAI, and the customs and excise departments.

“The focus of the conference will be on corporate frauds and ways and means to deal with such frauds,” said a senior SFIO official. The meeting is expected to discuss various sectors like banks, stock markets, audits etc.

The brainstorming comes at a time when the ministry of corporate affairs (MoCA), under whose jurisdiction the SFIO falls, is working on projects employing technology to detect corporate frauds, by scanning reports filed electronically by corporate houses.

SFIO was asked by MoCA to probe the Satyam case after founder B Ramalinga Raju confessed to manipulating the company’s accounts in January.