Kunal Gupta
Senior Partner – Forensic Investigation, Data Analytics & Risk Consulting
Lawyer · Company Secretary · Certified Fraud Examiner · 12+ years
Investigations
Internal Investigations
Counsel-led fact-finding with forensic execution. Findings that hold up before boards, audit committees, auditors and regulators.
Typical triggers we handle
- Whistle-blower complaints to the Audit Committee or a parent hotline
- Auditor flags under CARO / SA 240 and s.143(12) reporting risk
- Regulator notices (SEBI, RBI, ED, SFIO) needing a factual response
- Procurement, channel and expense fraud
- Related-party leakage
- Data theft
NARADism is not a law firm. Where privilege matters, we ask to be instructed by external counsel and work as counsel's agent: counsel owns the legal strategy and the privilege; we execute the investigation. Each matter is staffed from day one with a forensic accountant, a digital-forensics specialist and a legally trained investigator, so that evidence is preserved defensibly, analysed properly and reported to the evidential standard.
How we do it
Our method
- 1
Intake & triage
Credibility, severity, who must know, and the reporting triggers the complaint sets off.
- 2
Instruct & scope
Counsel engaged and instructing. Mandate, warnings and the Board reporting line agreed.
- 3
Preserve & collect
Litigation hold, forensic imaging and chain of custody, DPDP-compliant.
- 4
Analyse
E-discovery, ledger and transaction analytics, fund tracing and link analysis.
- 5
Interview
Witnesses, then subjects. Structured, recorded, with counsel present.
- 6
Report
Findings to the evidential standard, quantification of loss and root cause.
- 7
Remediate & disclose
Discipline, recovery, control fixes and the regulator and auditor strategy.
Deliverables
- Findings report written to the evidential standard, prepared at counsel's direction where instructed by counsel
- Quantification of the leakage or loss
- Root-cause analysis and control fixes
- Forensic images and recovered data under chain of custody
- Structured, recorded interview records
- Regulator and auditor strategy, including reporting packs where required
How privilege is protected: through counsel
We are not a law firm and do not give legal advice, hold privilege or appear before authorities.
Privilege arises from advocate-client communications (Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, ss.132-134; formerly ss.126-129, Evidence Act). Instructed by counsel, we work as counsel's agent and our work product is prepared at counsel's direction.
Instructed directly by a company, we say so plainly: the work is not privileged, and we recommend counsel be appointed where exposure is material.
Where our investigations plug in
- Audit committee and LODR investigations: independent investigations into whistle-blower complaints, financial irregularities and management conduct, with reports that stand before SEBI, the stock exchanges and shareholders.
- Disputes and arbitration: investigations into contractual fraud, diversion, breach of fiduciary duty and corporate misconduct, producing the factual matrix and documentary trail that pleadings and interim relief applications depend on.
- Insolvency: transaction audits for resolution professionals and committees of creditors, PUFE reviews under Sections 43, 45, 49 and 66, and the evidentiary basis for fraudulent and wrongful trading applications.
- SEBI enquiries: forensic accounting and evidence support for show-cause notices, summons and SEBI-ordered forensic audits, including independent re-performance where an existing forensic report is being contested.
Evidence, not opinion
Forensic accounting, digital forensics and field verification sit behind every finding. We say what we can prove and flag what we cannot. We work the PC Act, PMLA, Companies Act and SEBI regime daily and translate it into FCPA and UK Bribery Act terms for a parent or investor.
Case studies
How it plays out in practice.
Illustrative composites. Names, figures and timelines are indicative; no client is identifiable.
- NRD-CS-07Automotive (US-listed OEM)
Internal Investigation
Kickbacks Disguised as Offshore Engineering Fees
A hotline tip said an India procurement head 'controlled' a tooling supplier; the forensic trail ran through a UAE entity to a Singapore holdco and back to his family.
70%Tooling RFQs won by one supplierRead - NRD-CS-08Banking (NBFC)
Internal Investigation
A Round-Tripping Ring Hidden Behind Standard Accounts
An NBFC borrower group with suspiciously low delinquency defaulted overnight; the investigation found a nine-entity money-go-round and the insiders keeping it alive.
9Group entities in the money-go-roundRead
Also in Investigations
- Crisis Management & Regulatory ResponseA written crisis protocol, role-specific preparation and a rehearsed first-72-hours response, so every function knows what is expected of it when a regulator arrives unannounced or an enforcement action begins.
- Digital Forensics & E-Discovery ReviewsDefensible preservation, recovery and review of digital evidence across devices, mailboxes, chat and logs, turned into an evidence trail that stands up before regulators and courts.
- Market IntelligenceDiscreet market, vendor and competitor enquiry through pretext outreach, discreet calls and on-ground checks. Understanding the market as it really is: priced, positioned and behaving.
- OSINT & Desktop ProfilingDeep open-source research and digital-footprint analysis to profile entities and individuals remotely and at scale. A complete picture, built entirely from open, lawful sources.
- Asset TracingLocating and mapping hidden, undisclosed or dissipated assets across property, banking and corporate structures, and building the trail to recover them.
- Skip TracingLocating absconding individuals, from debtors and guarantors to fraudsters, and confirming their whereabouts on the ground.
How an engagement starts
Tell us what you can’t see.
Every engagement starts with a confidential conversation. No matter is too early, or too sensitive, to raise. A partner replies within one working day.
- 01
A 30-minute call
To align on the question, the team and the sites involved.
- 02
A fixed-scope proposal
A tailored scope and fee note within five working days.
- 03
Discreet execution
Small senior teams, conflict-checked, DPDP and GDPR compliant handling.