Need for separate Act for SFIO: Panel

A government-appointed committee has recommended a separate Act for the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) incorporating a provision for ‘whistle blower’ to check financial frauds, like the one at Satyam Computer, at an early stage.

A whistle blower is an insider who indicates misconduct in a company.

The Vepa Kamesam Committee, set up in 2006 to review the functioning of the investigating agency, has recommended to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs that there should be a whistle blower policy in the Companies Act and in the SFIO Act to detect corporate frauds at early stage.

The panel has recommended a “separate statute for the SFIO should be considered in the long run” apart from its recognition in the Companies Act.

The eight-member committee, headed by former deputy governor of RBI Vepa Kamesam, submitted its report recently to the ministry and has suggested the future course of action for the investigating agency.

The report, according to the sources in the Committee, took into account the multi-crore rupee Satyam scam, which shook the corporate world.