SFIO's forensic lab likely to be functional this fiscal: Sachin Pilot

NEW DELHI: The forensic laboratory being set up at the Serious Fraud Investigation Office at an estimated cost of Rs 3.80 crore, is expected to be operational in the current financial year, the government said today.

In March, SFIO inked a Memorandum of Understanding with National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology for setting up the forensic lab.

Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that the forensic lab is "expected to be functional during the current financial year".

The lab will be useful in enabling SFIO, which comes under the Corporate Affairs Ministry, to probe cases "of serious and complex fraud".

"The total cost of the forensic lab project is estimated at Rs 3.80 crore," Pilot said.

A specialised field in accounting, forensic audit is prominently used in cases of financial frauds to make a more accurate analysis of facts and figures.

Besides, Pilot said that SFIO has also signed an MoU with the Financial Intelligence Unit - India ( FIU-IND) for exchange of information relating to banking transactions.

"Such exchange of information would hlep SFIO in developing a fraud prediction model; a similar MoU has also been signed between the Ministry and FIU-IND," Pilot said.

As part of efforts to detect and curb corporate frauds, SFIO is also strengthening its Market Research & Analysis Unit through induction of new technology and skilled manpower.

To a separate query on unpaid and unclaimed money lying with various companies, Pilot said his Ministry has decided to analyse data in this regard uploaded by the firms on portal MCA 21.

Companies use MCA 21, an e-governance project of the Ministry, to submit their various financial and corporate data to the government.

Pilot said the uploaded data is also available on the website on Investor Education and Protection Firm (IEPF), which is dedicated towards promoting investor education and awareness.

"It is expected that this step will help investors to claim their rightful unpaid dues," he added.