White Collar Crime Defence

The architecture of white-collar prosecution in India has hardened. Between FY 2024 and FY 2026, ED's Provisional Attachment Orders crossed cumulative attachments of over ₹1.5 lakh crore. CBI registered hundreds of new cases in banking fraud, public procurement and corporate governance. SFIO and EOW operations expanded through inter-agency MoUs. The Supreme Court's Vijay Madanlal Choudhary (2022) upheld nearly the entire PMLA architecture; Pankaj Bansal (2023) tightened arrest procedure; Senthil Balaji (2023) scoped ED's custodial powers. By 2026, an enforcement summons is no longer a routine event — it is the start of a multi-year, multi-agency proceeding that can freeze assets, attach property, restrict travel, and end in a 7-10 year sentence on conviction.

The legal framework spans the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA), the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 (as amended in 2018), the Companies Act 2013 (Sections 447, 448 and the SFIO regime), the Customs Act 1962, the Income-tax Act (Sections 276, 277, 278), the Black Money Act 2015, the FEMA 1999, the BNS / BNSS / BSA 2023, and a thicket of sectoral statutes (SEBI Act, RBI Act, NDPS where commercial overlap arises). Bail jurisprudence under PMLA is governed by Section 45's twin conditions; under PCA by Section 19; under CBI cases by general bail principles read with the new BNSS.

We defend white-collar prosecutions end-to-end — from the first summons through ED / CBI / SFIO investigation, attachment, bail, trial, appeal, and constitutional challenges. The brief is technical, evidence-heavy, and constitutionally anchored.

What's Inside a Modern White-Collar Defence

• Pre-Summons / Pre-FIR Stage:: Anticipatory bail (Section 482 BNSS), quashing of summons or LOC, voluntary disclosure / settlement under PMLA where strategically viable, internal investigation playbook.

Summons under Section 50 PMLA / Section 108 Customs / Section 131 IT Act:
Statement strategy, Article 20(3) protection from self-incrimination, retraction strategy, parallel proceedings management.

• Arrest, Custody & Bail:: Pankaj Bansal-compliance challenge to ED arrest, Section 19 PMLA grounds, Section 45 bail twin conditions, default bail (Section 187 BNSS).

• Provisional Attachment Order & Adjudication:: Adjudicating Authority proceedings, Section 8 PMLA, attachment release, third-party / bona fide purchaser claims.

• SFIO / Section 447 Companies Act:: Director's defence, statutory documents review, investigation cooperation strategy, prosecution defence.

• CBI / EOW / Police FIRs:: Banking fraud, MGNREGS / PDS scams, public-procurement corruption, share-market scams; chargesheet review, Section 250 BNSS discharge, trial.

• Income-tax / Black Money / FEMA Prosecutions:: Section 276C / 277 prosecution, BMA prosecution, FEMA compounding, conjoint defence with civil proceedings.

• Trial & Special Court:: Designated PMLA Special Court / CBI Court, electronic evidence under Section 65B BSA, expert witnesses, written final arguments.

• Constitutional Challenges:: Article 14 / 20 / 21 / 22 challenges, vires of provisions, retrospective applicability, due-process violations.

Why Most Defendants Lose at the First Statement

The Section 50 PMLA / Section 108 Customs / Section 131 IT statement is the moment that defines the next 5-10 years of the case. A poorly prepared statement contains admissions that fix the prosecution's narrative; a well-prepared statement preserves the defence options. Case law, exact factual position, document strategy, and refusal-to-answer-on-self-incrimination — all rehearsed before the summons date. We do not defend by improvisation.