Kimona Luxury Private Ltd, is a company dealing in trading of luxury lifestyle products like writing instruments, expensive watches, high end leather products, tech products like headphones and other accessories having 1
CS Professional · Resolution of Corporate Disputes, Non-Compliances & Remedies · PYQS · June 2024
Kimona Luxury Private Ltd, is a company dealing in trading of luxury lifestyle products like writing instruments, expensive watches, high end leather products, tech products like headphones and other accessories having 10 boutique stores in high end luxury malls and five start hotels across the country. As a policy, the Company ensures compliance with all the applicable regulatory and legal requirements. To be customer friendly and increase sales, Nainaj, a sales associate in one of the stores, regularly accepted payment in cash from customers and swiped his own credit card against purchase, to record the payment against such purchase. With this practice, he was able to get credit period of 45 days on swiped transaction and get instant cash for his personal use. This unethical practice was unnoticed until the Bank's credit risk team blocked all the credit card swiping machines installed at the stores due to a suspicious transaction of high value. Over and above, Nainaj used to exchange cash collected from customer with fake notes and deposit them with Company's banker, so that gradually fake notes come into circulation. One of the customers recorded this on his mobile phone, shared it on the social media and it went viral within a very short span of time. The Company ordered a forensic audit to examine the details of such transactions. Meanwhile, the matter also received attention from Central Government, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was asked to investigate the fraud. Can CBI investigate such matters ? Comment.
Answer & Explanation:
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has grown into a multidisciplinary investigation agency over a period of time. Today it has the following three divisions for investigation of crime: Anti-Corruption Division: For investigation of cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against Public officials and the employees of Central Government, Public Sector Undertakings, Corporations or Bodies owned or controlled by the Government of India - it is the largest division having presence almost in all the States of India. Economic Offence Division: For investigation of major financial scams and serious economic frauds, including crimes relating to Fake Indian Currency Notes, Bank Frauds and Cyber Crime. This wing cover fraud, forgery and counterfeiting, offences against the legislation governing cheques, forgery or use of credit cards, undeclared employment and offences against companies (such as misuse of company assets). Special Crimes Division: For investigation of serious, sensational and organized crime under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and other laws on the requests of State Governments or on the orders of the Supreme Court and High Courts. The laws under which CBI can investigate Crime are notified by the Central Government under section 3 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 (DPSE Act). According to Section 3, the Central Government may, by notification in the official gazette, specify the offences or classes of offences which are to be investigated by the Delhi Special Police Establishment. According to section 2 of the DSPE Act, CBI can suo-moto take up investigation of offences notified in section 3 only in Delhi or other Union Territories. However, as per Sec 5 & 6 of the said DPSE Act, for taking up investigation by CBI in the boundaries of a State requires prior consent of that State. As per section 5(1), the Central Government may by order extend to any area including Railway areas in a State, not being a Union territory the powers and jurisdiction of members of the Delhi Special Police Establishment for the investigation of any offences or classes of offences specified in a notification under section 3. Further as per section 6, nothing contained in section 5 shall be deemed to enable any member of the Delhi Special Police Establishment to exercise powers and jurisdiction in any area in a State, not being a Union territory or railway area, without the consent of the Government of that State. As the crime transaction of accepting cash from customer and swiping personal credit card instead in the company system and exchanging collected cash with fake notes and putting same in banking circulation, the matter is major financial scam, it can be investigated by Economic Offence Division of CBI, provided that the crime took place either in Delhi or any other Union Territory, or if the crime took place in any State, the consent of the State Government of that state has been obtained.
Topics: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
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