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Auditing Fraud
The Serious Fraud Investigation Offi ce needs the government’s attention to fulfi l its mandate adequately.
Over the last 15 years, but more so since 2013, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has emerged as India’s premier corporate fraud investigation agency, investigating several high-profile cases. Why, then, is an organisation that is entrusted with uncovering corporate wrongdoing being left to function with inadequate personnel and is, therefore, being able to fulfil only a fraction of its potential?
Inadequate staffing is not new in government agencies, but the responsibilities of the SFIO have increased ever since it was granted statutory powers under the Companies Act, 2013. Data from parliamentary questions shows that about 447 company investigations were assigned to the SFIO between April 2014 and January 2018, accounting for 67% of the 667 total investigations assigned to it since its inception in 2003. The number of sanctioned positions, however, has remained stagnant at around 133 since 2014–15 and 69 positions lie vacant.
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