79 investigations assigned to SFIO in last 3 yrs involving 594 companies

As many as 79 investigations were assigned to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in the last three years wherein 594 companies were involved, the Parliament was informed Monday.

The government is aware of the growing corporate frauds reported during the last three years and is taking actions against these frauds, Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman said.

Besides the 79 investigations that were assigned to SFIO, 256 investigations have also been assigned to Regional Directors (RDs)/Registrars of Companies (RoCs) of Ministry of Corporate Affairs in the last three years, Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

She also noted that the Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) for exchange of data to curb white collar fraud.

The MoU will enable sharing of specific information like details of suspended companies, delisted companies, returns of allotment of shares, audit reports relating to corporates.

In addition to regular exchange of data, SEBI and MCA will also exchange with each other, on request, any information available in their respective databases, for the purpose of carrying out scrutiny, inspection, investigation and prosecution.

The Minister further noted that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has initiated KYC norms and 16,80,472 directors have complied with these norms.

Sitharaman said Sebi has put in place systems and practices to promote a safe, transparent and efficient market and to protect market integrity. The systems and practices are reviewed continuously and modified to meet emerging needs.

"Sebi maintains constant vigil in the market and wherever any entity is found to engage in any fraudulent activity it takes appropriate action against it," she said.