Equip EOW with specialists to detect white-collar crimes: HC

The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy sought for the report in four weeks while passing orders on a matter pertaining to the alleged embezzlement of funds by the trustees of Franklin Templeton Asset Management India in respect of six mutual funds. “There are several auditors and investment managers in the State whose services may be availed of by the police whether to train personnel or to develop a stream to deal only with economic offences. Such wing may also aid in unearthing or appropriately dealing with many a matter under the Prevention of Corruption Act (POCA) which is otherwise lost for lack of specialisation, ” the bench said. 

The petitioner had submitted that capital of about Rs 2,000 crore had changed hands within close relatives ahead of the scheme’s closure and this had led to a 5000 per cent increase in redemption on account of insider trading causing the mutual funds to falter. Based on this, he said complaints in such regard ought to be investigated by agencies that have the wherewithal and domain knowledge to undertake such tasks. 

He contended that though an EOW has been created in the state police, no degree of specialisation has been attempted and it is the usual transfer of a DSP from one district or some inspectors from another branch without identifying appropriate personnel having an aptitude or understanding of economic affairs or market conditions.