SFIO puts in place safeguards to prevent impersonation, misuse of summons

The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has put in place safeguards to prevent impersonation and misuse of summons.

The officers of the white-collar crime probe agency, which comes under the corporate affairs ministry, are mandated to issue only digitally generated summons/notices except in certain rare and exceptional circumstances, a release said on Friday.

During an investigation, SFIO issues summons and notices as per the provisions of Section 217 of the Companies Act, 2013.


The investigation agency has instituted a set of technical and procedural safeguards to prevent impersonation or misuse of summons and notices.

"Summons/notices issued by SFIO are digitally-generated and contain a QR code and a unique Document Identification Number (DIN)," the ministry said in the release.

According to the ministry, digitally generated notices with QR codes, DINs and online verification systems introduced to ensure authenticity and protect citizens from impersonation.

The online verification system allows the person or entity to instantly verify the authenticity of the communication received from SFIO.

"These verification systems have been put in place to give citizens immediate assurance that any communication they receive is genuine and to prevent impersonation or misuse," the ministry said.

Besides, a transparent multi-layer review mechanism has been put in place at SFIO to oversee the issuance of summons and notices.

The agency probes and prosecutes complex corporate frauds assigned under Section 212 of the Companies Act, 2013. PTI