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Intermediate

Understanding Shell Companies and Layering Techniques

An intermediate course on the single most common vehicle for laundering money in India: the shell company. Learn what legally counts as a shell, how one is incorporated and kept alive on paper, and why dummy directors, accommodation entries and share premium make them so useful to launderers and tax evaders. Then work through the layering techniques that move money through them: circular transactions, round tripping, bogus share capital and unsecured loans, fake GST invoices, penny stock LTCG schemes and multi-layer holding structures. Map the Indian legal net, from the Companies Act layering limits and significant beneficial owner rules to PMLA, the Benami Act and the 2017 shell company crackdown, and finish by learning how to spot shells using MCA data, financial statements and bank statements, with real Indian cases throughout.

Shell Company AnatomyAccommodation EntriesLayering TechniquesRound TrippingBeneficial OwnershipShell Company Red Flags

MODULES

5

DURATION

4 Hours

TRACK

Forensic Accounting & Compliance

What You'll Master

Define a shell company and separate it from legitimate holding, dormant and special purpose companies

Explain how entry operators use dummy directors and paper companies to sell accommodation entries

Trace the main layering techniques: circular flows, bogus share capital, unsecured loans, fake GST invoices and penny stock LTCG schemes

Apply the Companies Act layering limits, SBO rules, PMLA and the Benami Act to a shell structure

Spot shell companies using MCA filings, financial statement ratios and bank statement patterns

Learn from Indian enforcement actions, including the 2017 shell company crackdown and SEBI's penny stock orders

Access Level

LEARNER

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Everything included

Full Text Playbooks

Actionable Exercises

Mobile Reading Mode

Lifetime Updates

Curriculum Breakdown

Chapter 1: What a Shell Company Really Is

3 Lessons

Shell Companies Defined: Legal Shells, Abused Shells and the Grey Zone11 min read

Anatomy of a Shell: Directors, Registered Office, Capital and Bank Accounts12 min read

Why Shells Are Used: Tax Evasion, Laundering, Fund Diversion and Hiding Ownership11 min read

Chapter 2: The Entry Operator Business

3 Lessons

How Entry Operators Work: The Accommodation Entry Industry12 min read

Dummy Directors, Nominee Shareholders and Address Factories11 min read

The Economics of an Entry: Commission, Cash and the Paper Trail11 min read

Chapter 3: Layering Techniques Through Shells

6 Lessons

Circular Transactions and Multi-Hop Bank Transfers12 min read

Bogus Share Capital and Share Premium12 min read

Unsecured Loans, Advances and Loan Write-Backs11 min read

Fake Invoices and GST Input Tax Credit Fraud12 min read

Penny Stocks and Bogus Long Term Capital Gains13 min read

Multi-Layer Holding Chains and Round Tripping12 min read

Chapter 4: The Indian Legal Net

3 Lessons

Companies Act Controls: Layer Limits, SBO Rules and Strike-Offs12 min read

PMLA, the Benami Act and Income Tax: Which Law Bites Where12 min read

The 2017 Shell Company Crackdown: What It Did and What It Revealed11 min read

Chapter 5: Detecting Shells and Unwinding the Layers

4 Lessons

Reading MCA Data: Director Networks, Common Addresses and Filing Patterns12 min read

Financial Statement Red Flags of a Shell Company12 min read

Bank Statement Analysis: Pass-Through Accounts and Mirror Entries12 min read

Case Studies: Indian Shell and Layering Schemes Unpacked13 min read