SPECIALIZED WHITE COLLAR CRIME TEAM:

Diwan Advocates maintains a robust and specialized White Collar Crime and Economic Offences practice, led by its Partner, Dr. Farrukh Khan. The Firm is widely recognised for advising and representing clients in high stakes matters involving allegations pertaining to complex financial, corporate, and regulatory misconduct. White collar prosecutions today are rarely confined to a single forum; they frequently unfold across parallel criminal, civil, regulatory, and insolvency proceedings, demanding a sophisticated command over substantive criminal law, procedural safeguards, and industry specific regulatory regimes. Our practice is defined by a strategic, defence oriented approach that is carefully aligned with the factual matrix, legal vulnerabilities, and commercial realities of each case.

INTERPLAY OF PMLA & IBC:

A key differentiator of our White Collar Crime practice is its strong integration with the Firm’s Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) practice, coupled with our extensive experience in handling matters involving multiple cross implications. Our parallel expertise in insolvency and restructuring enables us to bring a nuanced understanding of corporate structures, financial arrangements, related party transactions, fund flows, and commercial decision making, which are issues that frequently form the core of allegations in economic offence and fraud prosecutions. Our experience in dealing with overlapping and interlinked proceedings, such as criminal prosecution, PMLA enforcement, insolvency processes, regulatory action, and civil recovery, allows us to anticipate risks, harmonise defence strategies, and prevent adverse spill over across forums, thereby adding substantial value to our clients’ overall defence.

OUR STRENGTH:

Our white collar crime team advises and represents clients across the entire spectrum of economic offences, including financial and banking fraud, credit related offences, corporate and accounting irregularities, diversion and misappropriation of funds, and money laundering proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). We also act in matters relating to allegations in respect of cyber and technology enabled crimes, bribery and corruption, tax and fiscal offences, and violations of securities laws, corporate governance standards, and statutory compliance frameworks. The Firm regularly represents promoters, directors, key managerial personnel, senior executives, professionals, and corporate entities confronted with criminal prosecution, regulatory scrutiny, and enforcement action.

Diwan Advocates offers comprehensive, end to end legal support throughout the lifecycle of investigations and enforcement proceedings initiated by authorities such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), and securities and market regulators. Our experience spans advisory and representation in search and seizure actions, issuance of summons, recording of statements, provisional attachment and confiscation proceedings, arrest and bail matters, adjudication processes, as well as trial and appellate litigation. We routinely appear before Trial Courts, Special Courts, High Courts, and appellate forums across India in some of the most complex and sensitive white collar criminal matters.

WHITE COLLAR (NON-CONTENTIOUS) ADVISORY:

Beyond courtroom advocacy, the Firm places strong emphasis on proactive risk management and compliance. We advise clients on risk assessment, internal controls, compliance structuring, and preventive strategies designed to mitigate exposure to white collar criminal liability. Our objective is not only to defend proceedings once initiated, but also to safeguard personal and corporate rights, manage regulatory and reputational risk, and secure effective, outcome oriented solutions through precise legal strategy, deep subject matter expertise, and rigorous advocacy.

RECENT ENGAGEMENTS:

Diwan Advocates has extensive experience in advising and representing clients in some of the most sensitive and high profile white collar and economic offence matters in India. The Firm and its leadership have acted in cases involving senior political functionaries, prominent public officials, leading industrialists, infrastructure and real estate promoters, and senior executives of large corporate groups, where proceedings involved serious allegations of financial impropriety, corruption, money laundering, and abuse of official position.

Our experience includes representing clients in matters involving large scale infrastructure and real estate transactions, complex fund flow structures, alleged diversion and siphoning of funds, policy driven commercial decisions subjected to criminal scrutiny, and enforcement actions arising out of regulatory, vigilance, and investigative proceedings. Several of these matters have involved extensive media attention, multi agency investigations, and parallel proceedings before criminal courts, special courts under economic statutes, High Courts, and regulatory forums.

The Firm has also handled cases involving senior government officers and public servants facing prosecution under anti corruption laws, money laundering statutes, and economic offence frameworks, where defence strategy required a careful examination of decision making processes, statutory discretion, approvals, and the distinction between criminal intent and bona fide administrative or commercial actions.

Across these matters, our role has included advising during investigations, representing clients in search and seizure related proceedings, responding to summons and statements, handling arrest and bail proceedings, challenging attachment actions, and conducting trial and appellate litigation. Our experience in managing high stakes matters with cross implications across criminal law, regulatory enforcement, insolvency proceedings, and civil disputes has consistently enabled us to deliver coherent and effective defence strategies while safeguarding both personal liberty and long term commercial interests.