White Collar Crime & Financial Crime Defence
White collar and financial crime defence concerns representation in investigations and proceedings relating to economic offences, including money laundering, fraud, foreign exchange contraventions and corporate misconduct. Sagar & Sagar Law Offices advises and appears in proceedings before investigating agencies, adjudicating authorities, Special Courts and appellate forums under legislation including the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, the Companies Act, 2013 and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Work spans the investigative stage, attachment and adjudication proceedings, trial, and appeals.
Overview
Economic offence proceedings in India frequently run on parallel tracks. A single set of facts can give rise to a criminal complaint, an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate, a regulatory proceeding before a sectoral regulator, and civil recovery litigation — each before a different forum, on different standards, and at different speeds. The positions taken in one proceeding can have consequences in the others.
The practice at Sagar & Sagar Law Offices is oriented to that structure. Work involves advising at the stage of summons and investigation, responding to attachment and adjudication, appearing in bail and quashing proceedings, conducting trial and appellate representation, and coordinating the client's position across simultaneous criminal, regulatory and civil proceedings so that they remain consistent.
Scope of work
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002
Representation across the stages of a proceeding under the PMLA.
- Advice and representation in response to summons issued under Section 50 of the PMLA
- Representation during search, seizure and investigation by the Enforcement Directorate
- Response to provisional attachment of property under Section 5 and related proceedings
- Proceedings before the Adjudicating Authority on confirmation of attachment
- Bail applications, including those governed by the conditions under Section 45
- Appeals before the Appellate Tribunal and further appellate remedies
- Trial representation before Special Courts designated under the Act
Foreign exchange and cross-border financial regulation
Proceedings and advisory work under India's foreign exchange framework.
- Representation in adjudication proceedings under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999
- Show-cause notices and responses relating to alleged contraventions
- Compounding applications and related representation
- Appeals from adjudication orders
- Advisory on foreign exchange compliance in cross-border transactions
- Proceedings under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015
- Proceedings under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018
Corporate fraud and statutory investigations
Matters arising from alleged fraud, misstatement or misconduct within companies.
- Representation in investigations by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office under the Companies Act, 2013
- Proceedings relating to fraud as defined under the Companies Act, 2013
- Representation in investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation and Economic Offences Wings
- Proceedings under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
- Bank fraud, cheating and criminal breach of trust proceedings
- Proceedings relating to benami transactions under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988
- Cheque dishonour proceedings under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881
Internal investigations and preventive advisory
Work undertaken before, or independently of, agency proceedings.
- Internal investigations into suspected fraud or misconduct
- Whistleblower complaint assessment and response
- Anti-money laundering and know-your-customer compliance advisory
- Review of compliance frameworks and reporting obligations
- Advisory to boards and audit committees on exposure and response
- Advisory on document preservation and response protocols during investigation
Criminal procedure remedies
Procedural remedies commonly engaged in economic offence matters.
- Anticipatory bail and regular bail applications
- Petitions for quashing of criminal proceedings before the High Courts
- Applications for release or de-freezing of accounts and assets
- Discharge applications
- Appeals and revisions against orders of criminal courts
- Transfer petitions
Forums and authorities
- Enforcement Directorate
- Adjudicating Authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002
- Appellate Tribunal constituted under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976, exercising appellate jurisdiction under PMLA and FEMA
- Special Courts designated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002
- Serious Fraud Investigation Office
- Central Bureau of Investigation and State Economic Offences Wings
- Sessions Courts and Courts of Magistrates
- High Courts, in criminal appellate, revisional and writ jurisdiction
- Supreme Court of India
- Securities and Exchange Board of India and the Securities Appellate Tribunal, in securities-related matters
Who we act for
- Companies facing investigation or proceedings
- Directors, officers and key managerial personnel
- Promoters and shareholders
- Banks, non-banking financial companies and financial institutions
- Professionals named in investigations
- Individuals summoned or arrayed in economic offence proceedings
- Boards and audit committees requiring independent internal investigation
How we approach this work
Early-stage advice.
The response at the stage of summons, search or initial questioning frequently shapes the course of the entire proceeding. Advisory work at that stage is treated as substantive representation.
Coordination across parallel proceedings.
Criminal, regulatory and civil proceedings arising from the same facts are managed with reference to one another, so that a position taken in one forum does not create difficulty in another.
Documentary and procedural rigour.
Responses to notices and attachments are prepared with attention to the statutory scheme, procedural requirements and the record that will be relied upon at later stages.
Confidentiality.
Matters in this practice are handled on the footing that the fact of an investigation is itself sensitive.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a summons under Section 50 of the PMLA?
- Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 empowers authorised officers of the Enforcement Directorate to summon a person to give evidence or produce records in the course of an investigation. A person so summoned is bound to attend and to state the truth on the subject matter of examination. Statements recorded are governed by the scheme of the Act.
- What is provisional attachment under the PMLA?
- Section 5 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 permits an authorised officer to provisionally attach property believed to be involved in money laundering, subject to the conditions in that section. Such attachment is required to be placed before the Adjudicating Authority, which decides whether it is to be confirmed after hearing the affected parties.
- Are PMLA offences bailable?
- Offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 are cognizable and non-bailable, and Section 45 imposes additional conditions on the grant of bail, subject to the exceptions provided in that section for certain categories of persons. Whether bail is granted in a given case depends on the facts and the view taken by the court concerned.
- Can civil, criminal and regulatory proceedings arise from the same facts?
- Yes. A single set of transactions may give rise to a criminal complaint, an investigation under the PMLA, adjudication under FEMA, a regulatory proceeding, and civil recovery litigation, each proceeding independently before a different forum. This is why positions taken across parallel proceedings are ordinarily coordinated.
- What is compounding under FEMA?
- The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 provides a mechanism by which certain contraventions may be compounded on an application by the person concerned, subject to the conditions and procedure prescribed. Not all contraventions are compoundable, and eligibility depends on the nature of the alleged contravention.
- When does the Serious Fraud Investigation Office become involved?
- The Serious Fraud Investigation Office investigates the affairs of a company where an investigation is assigned to it under the Companies Act, 2013, in the circumstances specified in that Act. Its investigations concern corporate fraud and related offences and may run alongside proceedings by other agencies.
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