Finally, GIFT City to get intl arbitration centre

According to Dean, School of Law, NFSU Delhi Campus, Dr Purvi Pokhariyal who is steering the project, “The idea is to divert that traffic from Singapore to India, which we are facilitating”. The rules of business to get the centre going are being drafted, added Pokhariyal.

NFSU signed an MoU with GIFT City on August 7, to “enhance expertise in international arbitration, fraud investigation, data security, cyber security and anti-money laundering”, a statement from GIFT City had said.

As part of the MoU, the NFSU will set up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) on corporate forensics in GIFT City, which will focus on cyber forensics, fintech, forensic accounting and international arbitration. “They wanted our help to provide security to financial institutions and offices located in GIFT City, support for prevention and investigation of financial crime and a cyber security vertical which will deal with forensic accounting and fraud investigation. At present there is no facility available in India and we are dependent on Singapore”, Campus Director at the NFSU, Gandhinagar, Professor SO Junare told The Indian Express.

The NFSU has sought to “buy” three floors — one for each vertical, from GIFT City and till that time the corporate forensics centre will begin preliminary operations post Diwali (November 2024) from a “transit campus” spread over 3000-4000 sq feet area in the greenfield smart city, said the campus director.

In 2022, High Commissioner of Singapore Simon Wong, had, in an interview to The Indian Express said that while India had the carrying capacity to become a leading financial centre in this region, the complicated laws could come in the way of competition with other centres.

Professor Junare emphasised the risks and increase in vulnerability of financial transactions to highlight the importance of forensic auditors which the CoE will have, especially when GIFT City is expected to see up to 200 companies open offices. “They will need 5,000-10,000 forensic accountants only to investigate financial crime, which chartered accountants cannot do alone as they don’t have forensic knowledge.The forensic accountant will not only see the balance sheet but beyond,” said Professor Junare.

As for the arbitration centre, its mandate will be “to resolve disputes between companies, companies and governments and provide seamless dispute resolution across the country with cutting edge technology”, said Pokhariyal.

All the faculty members in NFSU are government accredited forensic examiners who investigate cases and their reports are accepted in courts, which has made it easier for this university to set up the arbitration centre.

Chairman of the IFSC, GIFT City K Rajaraman told The Indian Express that a proposal was with the central government for amendment of rules to facilitate the arbitration centre “which should be ready by this year end”.

Managing Director and Group CEO of GIFT City Tapan Ray, could not be reached for comment.