In India's commercial environment, diverted assets travel through a characteristic set of channels: RTGS and NEFT transfers through a series of related-party accounts to create distance, conversion into bearer instruments or cash, acquisition of immovable property in nominee names, transfer to overseas accounts through SWIFT or informal hawala networks, and increasingly, conversion into cryptocurrency and movement through blockchain-based mixing services. Each of these channels requires a different forensic methodology — and each leaves a different evidentiary trail.
GP's asset tracing practice integrates forensic financial analysis — the reconstruction of the movement of funds from source to current location — with the legal recovery mechanisms that are available at each stage of the trace. A Mareva injunction freezes identified bank accounts and assets before the defendant can move them again. An ED PMLA attachment immobilises property that is proceeds of a scheduled offence. A Section 17 of the PMLA provisional attachment order protects identified assets while the investigation proceeds. The identification and the freezing must happen simultaneously — because the fraudster who learns that the tracing has identified their assets will move them again.
For cross-border asset tracing — the most common and most challenging scenario in major Indian commercial frauds — GP's corridor expertise is the decisive advantage. Funds moved to Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, or London through SWIFT do not simply disappear. They leave records in correspondent banking systems, land in accounts that are associated with identifiable entities, and acquire assets that are registered in public registries. GP's practitioners who understand the UAE's banking framework, the Singapore MAS account freeze process, and the UK's disclosure orders against banks provide a genuinely bilateral investigation capability — not a referral to an unfamiliar overseas firm.
From the first transaction reconstruction through to the freezing order and final recovery — forensic analysis and legal action delivered as one integrated service.
Reconstruction of fraudulent fund movements through Indian banking systems — RTGS, NEFT, and IMPS transaction analysis, beneficiary account identification, and the mapping of multi-hop transfer chains through shell company accounts. Identification of immovable property acquisitions in nominee names — cross-referencing sub-registrar records, EC searches, and property tax records against identified transfer recipients. Identification of moveable asset acquisitions — vehicles, jewellery, and other valuables acquired with diverted funds. Bank account freezing — drafting the affidavit evidence for an Order XXXVIII Rule 5 attachment or Mareva injunction application, targeted at the specific accounts and properties identified in the forensic trace.
Learn More →Tracing funds through international SWIFT transfers to overseas accounts — identifying the correspondent banking chain, the beneficiary account institution, and the ultimate receiving account. Overseas property identification — UAE real estate (DLD registry), Singapore property (IRAS records), Australian property (state land title registries), and UK property (HMLR). Overseas entity structure investigation — identifying the ownership chain of overseas holding companies, trusts, and nominee structures used to hold traced assets. Coordinating the overseas freeze — MAS account freeze requests (Singapore), UAE DIFC court orders, Australian Mareva orders, and UK worldwide freezing orders — alongside the Indian proceedings.
Learn More →For victims of fraud where the predicate offence is a scheduled offence under the PMLA — filing a complaint with the Enforcement Directorate to trigger PMLA attachment proceedings against proceeds of crime. Preparation of the financial intelligence that supports the ED complaint — establishing the predicate offence, the criminally derived nature of the identified assets, and the link between the fraudster and the attached property. For respondents facing PMLA attachment — forensic analysis demonstrating the legitimate acquisition of the property and the absence of criminally derived funds in the acquisition financing. Representation before the Adjudicating Authority and the PMLA Appellate Tribunal.
Learn More →Tracing fraudulent funds through cryptocurrency networks — blockchain transaction analysis identifying wallet addresses associated with the fraudster, exchange account identification, and the analysis of mixing and tumbling services used to obscure the transaction trail. Exchange KYC data recovery — obtaining account holder information from Indian and overseas cryptocurrency exchanges through court orders and law enforcement channels. Cryptocurrency freezing — Indian court injunctions against identified cryptocurrency wallets, and exchange-level account freezes where the exchange has Indian operations. For AML and regulatory compliance — transaction monitoring analysis and suspicious transaction pattern identification in client cryptocurrency portfolios.
Learn More →Court orders compelling third parties — banks, financial institutions, and intermediaries — to disclose information about transactions and accounts that are part of an asset tracing investigation. The Norwich Pharmacal order before the High Courts of India requires a third party that has been innocently involved in the fraud to disclose the information in its possession. Bankers Trust orders compel banks to produce transaction records and account details. These orders are the forensic investigator's most powerful discovery tool — obtaining information that is held by institutions rather than the fraudster, and which the fraudster therefore cannot destroy or conceal.
Learn More →Enforcing a money decree or arbitral award against a judgment debtor who is unwilling to pay — execution proceedings in the appropriate Civil Court, attachment and sale of identified assets, examination of the judgment debtor's financial position, and the legal steps to pierce through corporate structures used to conceal assets from execution. For debtors who have placed assets in family members' names or offshore entities to frustrate execution — forensic investigation of the judgment debtor's undisclosed asset position, and the legal proceedings to challenge fraudulent conveyances and set aside pre-judgment transfers designed to defeat creditors.
Learn More →When a company discovers a large-scale internal fraud, the most important initial question is not how much — it is when. The date the diversion started determines whether assets acquired with fraudulent proceeds are still recoverable, whether limitation periods have expired for civil claims, and how many years of transaction records need to be reconstructed. GP's forensic team begins every asset tracing engagement with a chronological reconstruction of the fraud — identifying the earliest transaction that can be forensically linked to the fraudulent scheme. That reconstruction determines the scope of the investigation, the quantum of the claim, and the range of assets that can be pursued. Call us before anyone else — before the records are touched, before internal communications are sent, and before the fraudster learns you know.
The critical path in an asset recovery is the gap between completing the forensic trace and filing the injunction application. In a referral model, that gap is the time needed to brief the lawyer on the accounting analysis — which can be days. At GP, the forensic accountant and the lawyer work in parallel from day one, with the injunction application being drafted as the trace is completed. The order is filed within hours of the trace being sufficient to support the ex parte application — not days after the forensic report has been delivered and briefed.
Most Indian asset tracing cases end at the Indian border. GP's corridor expertise means that the trace continues into Dubai, Singapore, Australia, and the UK — with practitioners who understand what a DLD registry search reveals in Dubai, how a Singapore MAS freeze request works, and how a UK worldwide freezing order is obtained against Indian assets held in London. The fraudster who thought crossing a border provided safety discovers that GP's investigation did not stop at the Indian border. Most Indian firms' investigations do.
The most effective asset recovery strategy combines civil proceedings (Mareva injunction, civil suit for recovery) with criminal proceedings (FIR under IPC, PMLA complaint with the ED) — because the criminal threat changes the fraudster's risk calculus and often accelerates settlement. GP's fraud and white collar practice manages the criminal proceedings that run alongside the civil asset recovery — ensuring a coordinated strategy that uses both simultaneously, rather than choosing one and foregoing the leverage of the other.
Complete confidentiality maintained.
Advised the minority branch of a family business following the discovery that the controlling branch had diverted Rs.52 crore of company funds over four years through a network of 31 related-party entities — vendor companies, real estate special purpose vehicles, and personal holding companies. GP's forensic team reconstructed the complete fund flow from the company's accounts through the entity chain to the ultimate beneficial assets — identifying six properties, four vehicle fleets, and multiple bank accounts as the current location of the traced funds. GP obtained a Mareva injunction from the Bombay High Court within 48 hours of instruction — before any of the asset transfers could be accelerated. The controlling branch settled within three months, returning Rs.44 crore in identified assets and agreeing to a revised governance structure for the business.
Advised a technology company whose former CTO had, in his final weeks of employment, diverted Rs.18 crore of company funds to a personal cryptocurrency wallet — converting the funds through a Singapore exchange and subsequently moving the crypto to a Hong Kong-registered wallet address. GP's digital forensics team conducted blockchain analysis tracing the fund movement from the company's bank account, through the SWIFT transfer to Singapore, through the exchange conversion, and through the blockchain to the Hong Kong wallet. GP obtained a High Court injunction in India restraining the former CTO from dealing with any assets, filed a criminal complaint, and engaged the Singapore exchange (through a Singapore court order) to freeze the account and provide the KYC documentation that confirmed the former CTO's identity as the account holder. The cryptocurrency was frozen pending the criminal proceedings.
Advised a trade creditor who held a Rs.28 crore Commercial Court money decree against a solvent defendant — who had been resisting execution for three years by claiming inability to pay while living visibly well. GP's forensic team conducted a covert asset investigation — analysing publicly available registry data, corporate filings, and financial data to identify assets that the defendant had placed in family members' names and through nominee company structures to frustrate execution. The investigation identified seven properties, two businesses, and multiple investment accounts totalling approximately Rs.35 crore — all held in names other than the defendant's. GP filed execution proceedings against the identified assets, filed an application to examine the defendant on his undisclosed assets before the execution court, and obtained attachment orders against four of the properties. Rs.22 crore was recovered through the sale of attached assets and a consent settlement.
The team combines forensic accountants specialising in transaction reconstruction and entity mapping, digital forensics specialists for cryptocurrency and electronic evidence tracing, and commercial litigation lawyers with specific experience in Mareva injunctions, PMLA proceedings, and execution against concealed assets. For cross-border matters, the team draws on GP's corridor specialists for the UAE, Singapore, Australia, and the UK.
The asset tracing team maintains 24/7 emergency response capability — the same capability that GP's cybersecurity, tax search, and aviation teams maintain. When you discover a fraud, the first call should be to the team that can simultaneously begin the trace and file the injunction.
What a Mareva injunction is, when it is available, how to obtain one on an ex parte basis, what evidence is required, and the steps that must be taken simultaneously to prevent the fraudster from moving assets before the order is served.
Read Guide →The mutual legal assistance framework between India and the UAE, the DLD registry searches available for Indian fraud victims, the DIFC court's freezing order jurisdiction, and the practical timeline for recovering Indian fraud proceeds held in Dubai real estate.
Read Guide →If you have discovered a fraud, suspect funds have been diverted, need a Mareva injunction filed urgently, or need assets traced across borders — call us immediately. Every hour matters.
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