SFIO ordered to probe 14 cases this fiscal: Govt in Rajya Sabha

The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has been ordered to probe 14 cases involving 95 companies in the current fiscal till March 17, the government informed Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

In a written reply, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Rao Inderjit Singh also said the government has taken a number of steps to curb and prevent corporate frauds.

As per data shared along with the written reply, Singh said SFIO has been ordered to probe 14 cases involving 95 companies in the current financial year till March 17.

In last fiscal, the probe agency was ordered to investigate 20 cases involving 49 companies.

SFIO comes under the corporate affairs ministry.

The measures taken to curb and prevent corporate frauds include making it mandatory for every existing or prospective directors to obtain a Directors Identification Number (DIN).

"In case of incorporation of a new company or change of address of an existing company, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has made it mandatory for professionals to verify details of the company and to personally visit their premises and certify that the premises are at the disposal of the company," Singh said.

He also said the ministry has undertaken pre-emptive measures aimed at sensitising people through investors awareness programmes which are organised regularly in association with the three professional institutes namely Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (1CA), Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICoAI) and Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) in various cities.

"Sebi has advised stock exchanges to set up a surveillance mechanism to monitor the periodic filings and disclosures made by listed companies to find out probable financial reporting irregularities and non-disclosures and generate early warning signals on possible misrepresentations in financial statements," he added.