The corporate
environment is changing in India at a rapid rate. The
Indian
Companies Act, 2013 (PDF) has played a major role in the
corporate environment of India. The Act has put a special emphasis on
frauds investigation and sound corporate governance. The Serious
Frauds Investigation Office (SFIO) has been entrusted with a greater
responsibility to avoid commission of serious frauds by companies in
India.
IT
and cyber frauds in Indian companies are increasing. By
their very nature these high profile crimes affect corporate sector.
Indian companies are also facing increased corporate frauds,
financial frauds, white color crimes and technological frauds. In
order to prevent black money from being accumulated offshore, the
Indian government has proposed establishment of Income
Tax Overseas Units (ITOUs) of India in foreign countries.
As far as international aspects of cyber crimes are
concerned, India has entered into mutual
legal assistance treaties (MLAT) with many countries
around the world. An Indo-American alert, watch and warn network for
real time information sharing in cyber crime cases has also been
established.
As per the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the
Information
Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2011, an
Indian company providing technology and online services in India is
an intermediary and it is required to follow cyber law due diligence
to escape Internet
intermediary liability in India. So if cyber crimes are
committed using its network or infrastructure then such company is
required to observe cyber law due diligence to escape Internet
intermediary liability.
According to Perry4Law,
the leading techno legal law firm of Asia, corporate
frauds, financial frauds and cyber
crimes are still on rise in India. Companies in India are
not at all following cyber
law due diligence requirements and this has resulted in
increased cyber crimes and online frauds in India. These
irregularities and crimes can be easily detected if an e-discovery
exercise is undertaken by law enforcement agencies of
India.
However, Indian companies, especially the telecom
companies, are openly violating the laws of India. For instance, Tata
Teleservices Limited (TTL) and Airtel are violating
Indian cyber law that also to the full knowledge of
department of telecommunication. Such violations must be stringently
taken by Indian government and its departments.
In their own interest, Indian companies must observe
cyber law due diligence so that cyber crimes and frauds can not only
be prevented but they can also be successfully prosecuted.
