SFIO stands for serious frauds investigation office. It is a investigation agency which is under the jurisdiction of ministry of corporate affairs. The mandate of SFIO is as under:
- The SFIO is involved in major fraud probes and is the co-ordinating agency with the Income Tax Department and the Central Bureau of Investigation.
- It is a multi-disciplinary organization having experts from financial sector, capital market, accountancy, forensic audit, taxation, law, information technology, company law, customs and investigation.
- These experts have been taken from various organizations like banks, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Comptroller and Auditor General and concerned organizations and departments of the Government.
- Based on the recommendation of Naresh Chandra Committeeon corporate governance in the backdrop of stock market scams as also the failure of non-banking companies resulting in huge financial loss to the public.
- Agency headquarters is in the Indian capital, New Delhi, with field offices located in major cities throughout India. The SFIO draws most of its officers from the IAS, ICLS, IPS and IRS.