Standing Lawyers conducts rigorous identity, entitlement, and source of funds verifications prior to accepting professional engagements. This policy articulates the verification protocols, beneficial ownership standards, entitlement reviews, and statutory cash prohibitions enforced by the firm across all client relationships.
1. Statutory status and voluntary governance framework
1.1 This Anti-Money Laundering and Client Due Diligence Policy represents a voluntary professional governance framework, and we articulate its precise statutory status transparently.
1.2 Under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), the Ministry of Finance issued a notification on 3 May 2023 designating practising chartered accountants, company secretaries, and cost accountants as reporting entities under Section 2(1)(sa). That notification did not include advocates. A subsequent notification dated 9 May 2023 designated persons undertaking company formation, director provision, nominee shareholding, or trustee services, but expressly excluded advocates whose role is restricted to submitting declarations under Section 7(1)(b) of the Companies Act, 2013.
1.3 Consequently, in the ordinary practice of law and advocacy, Standing Lawyers is not a statutory reporting entity under the PMLA and owes no statutory reporting obligation to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND).
1.4 Notwithstanding the absence of a statutory PMLA mandate, Standing Lawyers enforces comprehensive due diligence to protect the integrity of its practice, prevent fraudulent recovery claims, and ensure compliance with international standards.
2. Objectives of client due diligence
- Ascertaining client identity. Confirming the lawful existence and bona fides of the instructing entity;
- Verifying debt entitlement. Ensuring the claim is lawfully owned and enforceable by the client under Clause 4A;
- Confirming signatory authority. Verifying that corporate representatives possess lawful board authorization;
- Protecting the administration of justice. Preventing the firm from being utilized as an instrument for illicit proceeds; and
- Enabling conflict verification. Ensuring comprehensive conflict searches against all relevant parties.
3. Risk-calibrated due diligence methodology
3.1 The depth of inquiry is calibrated against matter risk profiles, evaluating client ownership structure, transaction values, jurisdictions involved, source of funds, and the documentary chain connecting the client to the underlying asset.
3.2 A lower risk rating simplifies documentation requirements but never eliminates the requirement to verify identity and authority.
4. Standard documentation requirements
| Client Classification | Mandatory Verification Documentation |
|---|---|
| Individual natural person | Government-issued photographic identification and proof of residential address |
| Private or public limited company | Certificate of incorporation, constitutional Memorandum and Articles of Association, Corporate Identity Number, board resolution authorizing instruction, and register of beneficial owners under Clause 5 |
| Limited Liability Partnership or partnership firm | Registration certificate, partnership deed, identity proofs of designated partners, and partnership authorization resolution |
| Trust or statutory body | Trust deed, statutory constitution order, identity proofs of trustees, and resolution authorizing legal action |
| Cross-border corporate entity | Certificate of incorporation, constitutional charters, certificate of incumbency, and multi-tier ownership schematics |
| Creditor or debt assignee | Corporate documentation, underlying commercial contracts, invoices, balance confirmations, and registered Deed of Assignment |
| Resolution Professional or Liquidator | National Company Law Tribunal appointment order, IBBI registration certificate, and valid Authorisation for Assignment |
4A. Independent verification of debt entitlement and title
4A.1 Identity verification establishes who you are. In corporate debt recovery, a second inquiry determines whether the firm can act: establishing that you lawfully own the debt and possess authority to pursue it. The primary risk in recovery practice is an identified person attempting to monetize a claim belonging to someone else.
4A.2 We rigorously audit the evidentiary chain linking the client to the claim: contract documentation for direct creditors, uninterrupted assignment deeds for assignees, and tribunal orders for liquidators.
4A.3 We investigate co-creditor and guarantor rights to ensure no adverse interests exist.
4A.4 The following warning indicators trigger immediate enhanced scrutiny or termination of intake:
- claims based on documents in another party's name without a registered chain of assignment;
- assignment deeds that cannot be corroborated against the assignor's books or appear modified;
- unjustified urgency or reluctance to allow communication with insolvency professionals;
- instructions that recovery proceeds be paid to third-party bank accounts; or
- unauthorized commercial intermediaries expecting success commissions from recovery proceeds.
4A.5 Where entitlement cannot be verified beyond doubt, the firm declines the mandate immediately.
5. Beneficial ownership verification
5.1 For corporate entities, we identify the natural persons who ultimately own or control the client, defined as individuals holding ten percent or more of equity shares, voting rights, or controlling the board.
5.2 Where corporate ownership is multi-layered, we trace ownership through intermediate holding structures to identify the natural persons exercising senior management control.
6. Enhanced due diligence triggers
6.1 Enhanced verification inquiries are mandated where any of the following factors exist:
- the client or beneficial owner is a Politically Exposed Person (PEP), or an immediate family member thereof;
- parties or transactions touch jurisdictions categorized as high-risk by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF);
- corporate structures are exceptionally opaque without commercial rationale;
- instructions were onboarded entirely remotely without personal interaction;
- the debt title relies on complex, aged, or multi-step assignments; or
- transactional instructions appear economically incongruous with the client's business profile.
7. Sanctions and designation screening
7.1 The firm screens clients, beneficial owners, and key counterparties against Indian statutory sanctions lists, including notifications under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and United Nations Security Council resolutions.
7.2 The firm will not represent designated individuals or facilitate transactions involving sanctioned assets.
8. Banking channel enforcement and statutory cash restrictions
8.1 All professional fees and disbursements must be settled via legitimate banking channels. The firm strictly enforces Section 269ST of the Income-tax Act, 1961, which prohibits the receipt of an amount of two hundred thousand rupees or more in cash in aggregate from a person in a day, in respect of a single transaction, or in respect of transactions relating to one event or occasion. Violation of Section 269ST attracts a mandatory penalty under Section 271DA equal to the amount received.
8.2 Standing Lawyers does not operate as a financial intermediary. We do not hold client trading funds and do not permit firm accounts to serve as financial conduits. Court filing fees and statutory deposits must be paid directly to the relevant registry.
8.3 Third-party fee payments are rejected in the absence of documented justification.
8.4 Direct payment of recovery proceeds. Debtors must remit recovery proceeds directly into bank accounts maintained in the client's own name. The firm does not receive recovery funds into firm accounts.
8.5 The firm will never solicit net-banking passwords, debit or credit card details, or OTP codes.
9. Continuing monitoring of client relationships
9.1 Due diligence is an ongoing obligation. Verification records are refreshed periodically upon changes in corporate shareholding, board composition, or mandate posture.
9.2 The firm remains vigilant throughout representation for unusual transactional structures lacking commercial rationale.
10. Disengagement upon verification failure
10.1 Where adequate verification documentation is withheld or reveals unresolved legal anomalies, the firm declines or terminates the engagement in conformity with professional rules.
10.2 The firm is under no obligation to disclose internal due diligence evaluations where prohibited by law.
11. Inviolability of Legal Professional Privilege
11.1 Due diligence records verify identity and entitlement only, and do not displace Legal Professional Privilege protecting confidential case communications under Section 132 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
11.2 Subpoenas seeking client records are resisted under the safeguards articulated in Clause 2 of our Confidentiality Policy.
12. Secure retention of verification records
12.1 Verification documentation is stored securely under our Data Protection Policy and retained for the duration prescribed by statutory limitation periods.
13. Governance responsibility
13.1 The proprietor of Standing Lawyers exercises ultimate responsibility for all due diligence determinations and client intake decisions.
Effect, review and contact
A This Anti-Money Laundering and Client Due Diligence Policy takes effect on 11 October 2026 and supersedes every earlier version published on this website. The version published on this page constitutes the operative regulatory instrument at any given point in time.
B Standing Lawyers reviews this Anti-Money Laundering and Client Due Diligence Policy at least annually, and forthwith upon any amendment to applicable statutes, subordinate rules, regulatory notifications, or firm operational systems. Where an amendment is material, formal notice shall be published on this page, and where the amendment concerns personal data in respect of which contact particulars are maintained, direct notification shall be transmitted.
C All formal communications, statutory notices, and grievances arising out of or in connection with this Anti-Money Laundering and Client Due Diligence Policy must be addressed to work@standinglawyers.com, marked for the attention of the Grievance Officer where the communication constitutes a formal complaint.
