Asset Tracing and Fraud: New Challenges in India

Vijayendra Pratap Singh is Partner and Head – Litigation at AZB & Partners, Delhi. Vijayendra has spearheaded various arbitrations pertaining to the validity of shareholder agreements, option contracts, long term supply, and claims on account of cancellation of coal blocks, confidentiality, and franchising and intellectual property issues. The arbitrations are both ad hoc as well as institutional and seated across multiple jurisdictions. He represented SIAC in the BALCO case before the Supreme Court on the scope and extent of judicial intervention of Indian courts with foreign seated arbitrations. He presently represents Amazon in the much-publicised dispute with Future Group. Vijayendra was named the Dispute Resolution Star of the Year – 2013,2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 by Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific and has been named in the Global Arbitration Review for the years 2012, 2018, 2019, and 2020. Vijayendra appeared before the Standing Committee for External Affairs and provided his recommendations for revising the text of India’s Model BIT (2016). Vijayendra is a visiting faculty member at the Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai and teaches a course to international commercial arbitration to post graduate students. He has also been a guest lecturer at various universities, including the Ashoka University, Sonipat.

Anindita Roychowdhury is a Partner in the disputes resolution team at AZB & Partners, New Delhi. She specializes in insolvency, bankruptcy and debt recovery laws. Since her background is in disputes resolution, she not only advises clients, but also represents clients before courts and tribunal, thereby making the transition from board room to court room seamlessly. She frequently advises resolution professionals, creditors, resolution applicants and companies in issues arising from and during corporate insolvency resolution process and liquidation under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. Anindita has recently been awarded ‘40 under 40 Rising Star Award’ by Legal Era. She has also been recognised ‘Notable Practitioner’ for Restructuring & Insolvency by IFLR1000 (2022), ‘Notable Practitioner’ for Restructuring & Insolvency by IFLR1000 (2021) and ‘Recommended Lawyer’ for Insolvency & Bankruptcy by Legal 500 APAC Guide 2021. Anindita has collaborated with the Joint Parliamentary Committee considering amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”), most of which have already translated into amendments to the statute, including making suggestions which require amendments to the IBC as recently as February 2023. She has also been a speaker at the National Company Law Tribunal members’ induction course which was under the aegis of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. She takes great pride in teaching and is frequently invited by various universities; Symbiosis Law School, Gujarat National Law University, Jindal University and Ashoka university to teach and discuss insolvency and bankruptcy law.

Abhijnan Jha is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution Team at AZB & Partners, Delhi. Abhijnan graduated from the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata (India) in 2013 and holds a Master of Law (LL.M) Degree from the University of Cambridge. Abhijnan has been involved in several ad-hoc and institutional arbitrations relating to shareholder disputes, supply contracts, option contracts and licensing disputes. He has represented IHH Healthcare Bhd in arbitration proceedings as well as arbitration related court proceedings before Indian Courts. He presently represents Amazon in its dispute with Future Group. Abhijnan has been named as a Recommended Lawyer in the Legal 500 Asia Pacific Directory for 2021 and 2022 in Litigation and Arbitration.  Abhijnan is a visiting faculty member at the Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai and teaches a course to international commercial arbitration to post graduate students. He has also been a guest lecturer at the Ashoka University, Sonipat.