Government's lackadaisical approach a major obstacle for SFIO: Panel

NEW DELHI: The government's "lackadaisical approach" in filling up sanctioned manpower at SFIO is becoming a major obstacle for the probe agency in unravelling corporate frauds, a Parliamentary panel said today.

The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), which comes under the Corporate Affairs Ministry, has been grappling with acute manpower shortage.

"A lackadaisical approach of the Ministry in fulfilling the sanctioned manpower of SFIO is proving to be a major obstacle in realising the full potential of SFIO in unravelling corporate frauds," the panel said.

According to it, the Ministry has been following an ad-hoc approach when it comes to the functioning of SFIO.

The observations is part of the Standing Committee on Finance's report tabled in the Parliament today. The report is about action taken by the government on the recommendations made by the panel on Demands for Grants (2014-15).

It has also reiterated that the Ministry must finalise the recruitment rules "immediately without further delay" so that SFIO can have a permanent cadre of officials.

Stating that the agency's technological capability seems to be falling behind the curve, the panel said the Early Warning System (EWS) -- which was "propounded as a panacea for all corporate frauds" -- has been dumped for want of encouraging results.

"The Computer Forensic Lab set up in Market Research and Analysis Unit (MRAU) of SFIO is yet to show tangible results, by way of timely identification and detection of high tech corporate frauds," the report noted.