Pooja is a Manager in FRA’s Dubai office and has over seven years of experience in investigations (financial, regulatory, internal fraud, misconduct), bribery and corruption matters, business intelligence and asset tracing. Her experience spans a range of industries including financial services, steel, pharmaceuticals, asset reconstruction companies, mutual funds, metals & mining, and hospitality.

Pooja’s major investigations experience includes co-leading an engagement for a multinational law firm regarding a FCPA investigation by the US Department of Justice. The team comprised more than ten professionals handling discovery of information, accounting records, and review of documents for over 1,500 vendors. Pooja was also involved in multiple forensic investigations for a large Mining and Metals company by using data analytics to identify red flags relating pricing anomalies; and multiple internal misconduct investigations to identify potential loss value and responsive individuals including non-confrontational confessional interviews.

In the area of disputes and litigation, Pooja was involved in a team engaged to consult on quantifying damages suffered by a leading foreign private equity player (approx. US$15m) in a breach of contract dispute under arbitration. This was followed by assisting with preparation of a rebuttal report highlighting the flaws in the Respondent’s counter claim. Pooja was also involved in a litigation engagement, re-calculating profits to assist a large global bank in Hong Kong in responding to queries raised by the Securities and Futures Commission.

Pooja’s experience with financial institutions includes assisting multiple forensic audits on stressed accounts of large public and private sector Indian banks to identify potential diversion of funds or misutilization by the borrowers and identify conflict of interest between the directors and vendors. Separately, she was involved in an assignment in Germany for review of Electronic Stored Information to identify instances of manipulation of important benchmark submission process submitted by the Bank to BaFin. 

Pooja has led multiple forensic due diligence and asset tracing assignments for private equity firms in post-investment situations on target companies in the real estate, beverage and entertainment industries.

Prior to FRA, Pooja was a Manager specialising in Disputes and Investigations at Alvarez and Marsal based in India. Before that, she worked with Ernst and Young in their Fraud Investigations and Disputes Services practice.

Pooja is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelors of Commerce degree from the University of Mumbai.