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Nikhil Varshney

Partner in the Disputes, White Collar and Investigations practice at the Delhi - NCR office of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. Nikhil handles general commercial litigation and sensitive criminal matters and investigations for domestic and international clients. He also has an expertise in handling internal investigations regarding a wide range of issues relating to bribery, ethics and integrity, misconduct, financial irregularities and fraud. He can be reached at nikhil.varshney@cyrilshroff.com.

Summary: As businesses become increasingly global, requests from foreign regulators, courts and law-enforcement agencies for information held in India are becoming a routine part of cross-border compliance. Businesses must now play the balancing act—comply with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDP Act”), and the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 (“DPDP Rules”), on the one hand, and the laws of the requesting jurisdiction on the other. The DPDP framework does not automatically exempt foreign regulatory requests. Business must, therefore, regularly assess the basis for processing and disclosure, cross-border transfer requirements and, determine whether such request should be routed through an Indian legal mechanism.

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How OFAC’s Latest Guidance Changes the Sanctions Compliance Landscape – Part II

Summary: Part II draws on recent enforcement actions to illustrate how OFAC applies this approach in practice. It highlights the heightened expectations placed on professional service providers and explains why ownership screening alone can no longer be treated as a complete compliance exercise.

Continue Reading How OFAC’s Latest Guidance Changes the Sanctions Compliance Landscape – Part II

Summary: Part I examines OFAC’s Advisory and the fundamental shift it signals in sanctions compliance — moving from a mechanical application of 50% ownership rule towards a substance-over-form analysis. It covers the expanded interpretation of “property interest”, the red flags identified by OFAC, and the resulting compliance implications for businesses operating across sectors.

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On the List: OFAC’s Iran Sanctions Impacting Indian Companies and Nationals

 

Summary: This blog examines the October 2025 OFAC sanctions targeting Iranian oil trade, which included eight Indian nationals and nine Indian companies on the Specially Designated Nationals list. It analyzes the legal framework behind these sanctions, their practical implications for affected parties, available delisting options, and the broader risks facing Indian businesses engaged in cross-border trade.

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Introduction

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (“FCRA/Act”), is an important piece of legislation that Parliament has enacted to prohibit acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for activities detrimental to national interest.

Continue Reading Navigating the Evolving FCRA Landscape: Enhanced Responsibility of Chartered Accountants
Renewed focus on Liberty - Delhi High Court upholds Constitutional Safeguards on Bail under PMLA

Securing bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (“PMLA“), is challenging due to the high threshold for bail stipulated by the Act. Section 45 of the PMLA stipulates that bail may be granted to an accused in a money laundering case only if two conditions are met: first, the Public Prosecutor must be given the opportunity to oppose the bail application; second, there must be prima facie satisfaction that the accused has not committed the offence and is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. It is frequently contended that these twin conditions pose a significant challenge to the prevailing legal principle in criminal jurisprudence that “bail is the rule and jail is the exception”. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has observed that the twin conditions challenge an accused’s right to liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution[1].

Continue Reading Renewed focus on Liberty – Delhi High Court upholds Constitutional Safeguards on Bail under PMLA

The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (“PMLA”), is a comprehensive law, dealing with aspects of money-laundering, attachment of proceeds of crime, adjudication, and confiscation thereof. The “proceeds of crime” is the fulcrum of the offence of money-laundering under the PMLA and all actions taken by the Enforcement Directorate (“ED”) under the PMLA invariably revolve around it. Accordingly, the definition of proceeds of crime under Section 2(1)(u) of the PMLA is of immense relevance. In terms of Section 2(1)(u) of the PMLA, “any property derived or obtained… by any person as a result of criminal activity relating to a scheduled offence…” is regarded as proceeds of crime. As held by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors.[1] (“Vijay Madanlal”), the expression “derived or obtained” is indicative of a criminal activity, relating to a scheduled offence, already accomplished. The commission of a scheduled offense, whether registered with the jurisdictional police or under review by a competent forum through a complaint, constitutes the legal basis for any investigation conducted under the PMLA.

Continue Reading Shifting Paradigms in PMLA Jurisprudence: Madras High Court reopens settled principles of Automatic Quashing of PMLA Proceedings

Navigating the Crypto Maze: Delhi HC expands scope of predicate offences under PMLA

Introduction

A single judge bench of the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi delivered a significant ruling in the matter of Adnan Nisar v. Directorate of Enforcement and other connected matters[1], on September 17, 2024, holding that an offence committed in a foreign country can be classified as Predicate Offence, under the Prevention of…

Criminal Breach of Trust vs. Cheating: Decoding the Confusion

Introduction

Offences such as cheating and criminal breach of trust are often invoked in Indian criminal law system. It is common practice that when a First Information Report (“FIR”) is registered under Section 406 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (“IPC”) (Section 316 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (“BNS”)) for criminal breach of trust, the same is also registered under Section 420 of IPC (Section 318 of BNS) for cheating. This practice is on account of a long-drawn confusion between the two offences, wherein the two are often equated and thus understood as offences with similar ingredients.

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Decoding Section 17A of the PC Act: A Substantive Safeguard or a Tool for Procedural Hindrance?

Introduction

On January 16, 2024, the Division Bench of the Supreme Court delivered a split verdict in the case of Nara Chandrababu Naidu vs. State of Andhra Pradesh and Anr.,[1] (“Chandrababu Naidu Case”) wherein the pertinent question of law was relating to the interpretation of the scope of Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (“PC Act”). The provision provides for a requirement of taking a prior approval of an appropriate authority before initiating any enquiry or inquiry or investigation into any offence alleged to have been committed by a public servant under the PC Act. Since the alleged offences in the instant case were committed prior to July 26, 2018 – the date on which Section 17A was incorporated vide the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 26 of 2018, the issues identified by the Supreme Court relate to the interpretation and ambit of the following legal questions:

Continue Reading Decoding Section 17A of the PC Act: A Substantive Safeguard or a Tool for Procedural Hindrance?