Overview

Objectives

• Set the scene for the trends in financial frauds in India and identify critical areas for default (particularly in view of the pandemic).
• Provide an overview of the lifecycle of an (internal) financial crime investigation, from the discovery or initial complaint to the final outcome (both internal and regulatory) along with criticalities/challenges at each stage.
• Discuss case studies and learnings.
• Discuss strategies and best practices that can be adopted by businesses to mitigate risk.

Brief

Businesses in India face a heightened enforcement-driven business environment. New and amended legislation have increasingly criminalised acts and omissions by corporate entities and their officers. Recent high-profile instances of corporate fraud have resulted in closer scrutiny and prosecution of economic offences of late. India does not currently offer DPAs or voluntary reporting, and prosecutions can be cumbersome and long drawn, involving multiple enforcement agencies deriving authority from a number of laws.

Given the increased propensity towards corporate criminal action, companies should institute robust internal controls and systems to quickly and effectively identify, ringfence and address economic defaults. These systems will not only need to be attuned to the new (pandemic-driven) ways of doing business but also account for appropriate and timely interface with law enforcement and regulators.

Based on our practical experience advising and conducting internal investigations for clients on a number of financial crimes, this webinar proposed to cover:

• High risk areas for companies operating in India, particularly on account of the pandemic.
• Investigation triggers and investigational approach, including immediately ringfencing risk, classification of the threat, assessing the need for an internal or external investigation involving specialists and setting the scope for the investigation.
• Practical challenges of multi-jurisdictional investigations involving employees in a remote working environment.
• Post-investigation remedial measures, both internal and legally mandated.
• Practicalities of, and timeline for, engaging with law enforcement agencies and regulators in India and abroad.
• Potential impact on corporate governance and board liability.

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