Working in close collaboration with the firm’s dispute resolution offering, the white-collar crime, compliance, and investigations team at AZB & Partners excels across the full spectrum of business crime matters, including bribery, corruption, embezzlement, and antitrust investigation and litigation. Key individuals in the team include Vijayendra Pratap Singh, who expertly advises on regulatory investigation and fraud, anti-corruption, and money laundering enforcement actions; Soumit Nikhra, who also is a key figure in the firm’s forensic investigations sub-practice; and Ajay Upadhyay, a seasoned practitioner with notable expertise in both internal and regulatory investigations. Another name to note is Prerak Ved, who is also recommended for forensic investigations. Aditya Vikram Bhat departed in 2024.

Under the joint leadership of founder and senior partner MP Bharucha and managing partner Justin Bharucha, the governance, ethics, and anti-corruption practice at Bharucha & Partners regularly advises both corporate and individual clients on the full range of white-collar crime issues. The ‘extremely skilled and proactive‘ team also includes Sonam Gupta and Sneha Jaisingh; Gupta handles both contentious and non-contentious mandates, representing corporates and high-net-worth individuals in investigations and economic offences prosecutions, while Jaisingh represents clients in cases involving economic offences and regulatory compliance issues before the high courts and the Supreme Court.

The ‘substantively strong and extremely commercial’ white-collar crime and corporate investigations team at Khaitan & Co. runs the gamut of matters, handling investigations, enforcement action, and regulatory compliance work. Ajay Bhargava advises on corporate criminal investigations, Susmit Pushkar handles agency enforcement investigations, while Rajiv Bhatnagar takes point on criminal prosecutions relating to money laundering, corruption, the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, and the PBPT act. ‘Terrific practitioner‘ Manavendra Mishra specialises in anti-corruption investigations and cross-border disputes and Vinay Joy is the name to note for whistleblower investigations; Bhargava, Pushkar, Bhatnagar, Mishra, and Joy jointly lead the team. In August 2024, the team was further strengthened with the arrivals of Avik Biswas and Rithika Reddy from IndusLaw.

Kochhar & Co.’s anti-corruption, corporate investigations, and white-collar crime offering spans the full range of complex fraud, money laundering, and corruption work. Founding member and managing partner Rohit Kochhar co-heads the practice alongside senior partner Krishna Vijay Singh, an experienced white-collar litigator with notable expertise acting for domestic and international corporations facing enforcement actions in India. Manish Dembla is a key contact for multinational corporations seeking advice on securities fraud, bribery, and anti-corruption issues, while Pradyuman Sewar has extensive experience defending CBI prosecutions. For clients in the pharma, infrastructure, and construction sectors, Nachiketa Goyal is a key port of call. Madhvi Datta joined the team in January 2024, strengthening its anti-bribery and anti-corruption offerings.

The governance, investigations, and white-collar defence practice at specialist business crime boutique Law Offices of Panag & Babu counts large domestic corporations and multinational companies among its impressive clients. Sherbir Panag chairs the practice and is a seasoned white-collar crime specialist with extensive experience handling internal and government investigations, compliance mandates, and law enforcement proceedings. Guneet Gudh is a key contact for clients in the pharma and medical equipment industries. Lavanyaa Chopra takes point on financial fraud and bribery matters, while Vidhi Khanijow has a focus on regulatory advice, investigations, and enforcement actions.

The white-collar crime and corporate investigations team at MZM Legal, Advocates & Legal Consultants attracts client praise for its ‘mastery of the law, procedure and practice,’ and stands out for its specialised offering across the full range of advisory and litigious mandates. Practice co-head Zulfiquar Memon handles cross-border investigations and disputes concerning money laundering, financial fraud, and extradition issues. Co-head Parvez Memon is a key contact on the regulatory defence front, acting for national and multinational corporations facing corruption, embezzlement, and fraud investigations. The duo works alongside co-head Waseem Pangarkar, who takes point on corporate malfeasance, bribery, and insider trading work. Also in the core team is Chirag Naik, praised by clients for his ‘in-depth and sophisticated understanding of the law.’

Attracting client praise for its ‘in-depth knowledge and subject matter expertise,’ Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co counts multinational tech, banking, and manufacturing companies among its impressive roster of clients. Pallavi Shroff oversees the department and is a seasoned litigator with a strong track record handling internal investigations as well as agency investigations by the CBI and the ED. The ‘very knowledgeable and responsive’ team also includes Alina Arora and Nishant Joshi; the ‘brilliant and sharp‘ Arora takes point on corporate investigations concerning corruption, money laundering, and fraud, while Joshi regularly defends clients before various courts and tribunals.

Regularly advising on internal whistleblower, bribery, and corruption investigations for a diverse array of multinational corporate clients, Trilegal’s white-collar crime practice is lauded by clients for its ‘transparent, ethical, and precise advice’. Practice head Shankh Sengupta has extensive experience advising on cross-border internal investigations as well as representing clients before the CBI, ED, and SFIO. Anuj Berry is a key name for financial statement fraud and other financial misconduct, while Nitesh Jain represents clients in the banking sector in money laundering and banking fraud matters. Kunal Gupta takes point on ESG investigations, workplace misconduct, and anti-bribery matters, and Pallav Shukla is a key port of call for clients in the IT, aerospace, and defence industries.

Described by clients as ‘practical, flexible and agile,’ the white-collar crime team at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas acts for both corporate and individual clients from an array of industries. Key names in the team include managing partner Cyril Shroff, disputes head Indranil Deshmukh, Ankoosh K Mehta, and  Faraz Alam Sagar; Mehta is a seasoned litigator with a focus on CBI and ED investigations, while Sagar has a broad practice with a notable focus on sanctions advisory, regulatory compliance, and anti-bribery work. Sara Sundaram is a key contact for financial institutions and fintech companies, and Srinivas Atreya Chatti ably assists on criminal investigations and financial fraud proceedings.

The dedicated white-collar crime team at DSK Legal is regularly instructed to advise senior executives, public officials, and corporate clients on a diverse array of work, including criminal tax proceedings, money laundering and FEMA investigations, and anti-bribery and anti-corruption matters. Anand Desai heads the team and has a broad practice acting for both individual and corporate clients. Vikrant Singh Negi specialises in forensic diligence, cyber law, and white-collar litigation, representing clients in SFIO, CBI, and DRI investigations. Also in the core team are seasoned litigators Kirat Singh Nagra and Kartik Yadav.

Economic Laws Practice acts for senior executives and domestic and multinational companies facing allegations of money laundering and exchange control violations, corporate misconduct, and tax violations, lauded by clients for its ‘capability to handle a matter end to end‘. Naresh Thacker heads the team and is an experienced advocate. Thacker works alongside Mumtaz Bhalla, who clients describe as ‘one of the sharpest brains in the country‘, a key contact for money laundering and anti-corruption investigations.

The anti-bribery, anti-corruption, and investigations team at IndusLaw acts for both corporate and individual clients on the full spectrum of contentious and advisory mandates. Amit Jajoo represents high-net-worth individuals and corporations before various high courts and the Supreme Court, as well as before the SEBI. Sushmita Gandhi is a key name for clients in the financial sector. Avik Biswas and Rithika Reddy left the firm in August 2024.

AP & Partners acts for domestic and multinational clients in enforcement litigation, internal investigations, and extradition matters, leveraging the firm’s strong corporate offering to advise on securities fraud, money laundering, and foreign investment-related offences. Key individuals to note include co-founder Anand Prasad, litigator Sandeep Das, new partner Vipin Tyagi, and the transactions-focused Harshit Anand; the four jointly lead the practice.

Lakshmi Raman and Arush Khanna jointly oversee the dedicated criminal litigation offering at Numen Law Offices, which clients praise for its ‘a high level of legal knowledge and strategic acumen‘. Raman has a broad criminal defence practice with an emphasis on economic offences, white-collar crime, and serious fraud investigations, while Khanna attracts client praise for his ‘deep legal knowledge, strategic thinking, and unwavering dedication to client success‘.

Harsh K Sharma heads the white-collar crime team at Prosoll Law Inc, which acts for public officials, high-net-worth individuals, and corporations on a wide range of contentious matters. Founder Sharma is a seasoned litigator with extensive experience advising on money laundering, fraud, and bribery matters. Also in the core team are Vaibhavi Sharma, a name to note for anti-corruption and bank fraud matters, and Lakshya Parasher, who ably assists on money laundering and anti-corruption matters.

RPV Legal fields a team of ‘knowledgeable and experienced‘ white-collar defence lawyers with expertise across the full spectrum of criminal litigation and investigations. Indresh Upadhyay is a key port of call for clients in the infrastructure and real estate sectors, Sooraj Sharma takes point on cross-border criminal litigation, while Vipul Agrawal is the name to note for international extradition defence and bribery and corruption issues; Upadhyay, Sharma, and Agrawal jointly lead the team.

Veritas Legal‘s white-collar crime and investigations team handles the full range of matters, with notable strength in fraud work. Rahul Dwarkadas and Neveille Mukerji jointly oversee the team; Dwarkadas, who also heads up the firm’s overall dispute resolution offering, handles anti-corruption and anti-bribery issues as well as labour and employment disputes, while Mukerji takes point on economic offences matters as well as senior official misconduct issues.