The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has initiated investigations into a whistle-blower complaint sent by a Deloitte employee and will summon its top officials for questioning to find out whether the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) group’s auditor deliberately ignored several red flags in the company’s books, recommended creating complex structures, and in a quid pro quo received high fees from the bankrupt company.
A top SFIO official said the probe agency had received a communication from a Deloitte Haskins & Sells whistle-blower, but declined to comment further. A few Deloitte officials have already been asked to join the enquiry, an SFIO source said, adding it was aware of the audit shortcomings and was now looking into IL&FS books of the last five years.
