Fighting Fraud in Mumbai

GUEST BLOGGER

Alani Mundie, CFE
ACFE Law Enforcement Liaison

With more than 20 million residents and an immense array of flavors, scents and sights, Mumbai, India, is a city that overwhelms the senses. Sidewalks teeming with tourists, shoppers and vendors selling scarves, artisan crafts, fruits and jewelry border the even more crowded streets filled with Mumbai’s noisy traffic. Cars, rickshaws, busses, motorcycles and bicycles travel within inches of each other with little regard for marked traffic lanes, making transportation in Mumbai an adventure of its own.

On a recent trip to Mumbai, John Gill, J.D., CFE, ACFE’s VP-Education, and I were able to experience the chaotic traffic adventure en route to a meeting with the ACFE Mumbai Chapter. Amidst the bustling streets, the chapter is busy supporting its membership and anti-fraud efforts in the region. Chapter President Arpinder Singh, CFE, Partner and National Director of Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services at Ernst and Young, has grown the Mumbai Chapter significantly since it was formed in January 2011. Along with Chapter Secretary and Treasurer Amit Rahane, Associate Director of Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services at Ernst and Young, the two chapter leaders are actively expanding the anti-fraud training opportunities available to their members.

There are currently three ACFE Chapters in India: Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. The Mumbai Chapter is one of the largest, with more than 220 members from various professional sectors such as the big four accounting firms, banks, regulatory agencies and law enforcement. As the chapter continues to grow and attract professionals from in and around Mumbai, Singh and Rahane are working to keep pace with their impressive membership growth by providing an array of anti-fraud training opportunities. Chapter events for this year include a seminar on banking and insurance fraud and a conference that tackles several pertinent issues, such as: trends in retail fraud in India; the role of technology in preventing and detecting frauds; bribery and corruption; proactive fraud prevention; and many other important fraud-related topics.   

In meeting with our Mumbai Chapter, we learned of the growing presence of anti-fraud awareness in India and experienced first-hand the tremendous role that chapters have in enhancing that awareness locally. There are nearly 1,100 ACFE members in India and as our Indian membership continues to expand, we look forward to working with Indian chapter leaders to support the growth of anti-fraud efforts throughout the country.

Pictured (from left to right): Vinay Garodiya, Senior Manager, Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services, Ernst & Young; Amit Rahane, ACFE Mumbai Chapter, Secretary, Treasurer and Associate Director, Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services, Ernst & Young); Nandkumar Saravade, Director, Citi Security and Investigative Services, South Asia; Arpinder Singh, ACFE Mumbai Chapter President and Partner and India Head Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services, Ernst & Young; John Gill, ACFE VP - Education; Alani Mundie, ACFE International Law Enforcement Liaison; Satish Shenoy, Jt. General Manager,Corporate Audit Services, Larsen & Toubro Ltd.; Mukul Shrivastava, Mumbai Chapter Board Member and Executive Director, Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services, Ernst & Young