Dr Kislay Panday, Advocate: A legendary name in Forensic Audit

Thrilled by the recent report of Grant Thornton, a global giant in forensic Investigations which carried out the audit of DHFL financial irregularities, Dr. Kislay Panday, a master in forensic audit, while drawing attention to the findings, stated, "The financial audit against DHFL was first conducted by me. My findings concluded that the economic offence amounted to a staggering Rs. 1 lac crores.

The DHFL coterie was livid and used every arsenal at their disposal to vilify and attack my name. But today, I feel proud that Grant Thornton's investigations and conclusive submissions validate my findings."

Stating that forensic audit is a scientific process for examining financial transactions and their veracity of being above any malpractices, Dr. Kislay Panday explains, "Any financial transaction between two or more parties is bound to adhere to the statutory norms laid down by the respective governing body. So, if any party transgresses the set rules, then the act is considered as a crime and punishable under law. A case in point is that when any public limited company carries out financial transactions, but does not declare the fact in its submissions to the said regulatory body, then a case can be filed against them for not only disobeying the rules, but for also violating the Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Corruption Act, Money Laundering Act, SEBI Act, Income Tax and many others.

When such cases come up, it entails thorough investigation for gathering evidences which are admissible in any court of law."

He further added, "Wherever financial transactions happen and they look dubious, forensic investigation becomes inevitable. I have investigated complex cases of high- profile business entities by opening the Pandora's Box of financial irregularities mostly operated through shell companies and in the process, have invited their vicious backlash. The extent and depth of their ramifications is so confounding that it involves long and tedious hours running into several days and months of thorough examination of facts and figures to reach the source and root of the sham."

Having handled cases such as DHFL, YES Bank and others, Dr. Kislay Panday shares, "When on the request of the client, I initiated forensic investigations against the erring company, I ensured that every little financial disbursement involving all the stakeholders in the deal are carried out meticulously. The huge discrepancies that I eventually unearthed were baffling cases of siphoning of funds by fraudulent means. During the investigative process, innumerable Criminal Purpose Vehicles were also exposed."

The term Criminal Purpose Vehicle was given by the country's leading forensic investigator, Dr. Panday, who informs that these sham businesses act as a facade for carrying out nefarious activities.

However, Dr. Kislay Panday observes that still many people are not within the ambit of awareness about the laws of the country constituted particularly for safeguarding their legal rights. And although forensic audit is gaining popularity for its indispensable role in the wake of frauds and scams, a lot of public awareness education still needs to be done.