Before funding an India-related claim, a funder needs to know whether a win can be collected. In India, that depends both on what the respondent holds and on the enforcement route. The two questions are usually answered by different people. I answer both, before you commit.
On what the respondent holds, I trace assets in India in person, through the corporate, property and court registries, through holding companies and nominee or benami holdings, and through people who know where value has gone. A balance sheet does not show which assets are encumbered, which have been moved, or which were never really the company’s.
On whether they can be reached, a judgment from a reciprocating territory can be executed directly. A US judgment needs a fresh suit in India, with its own timeline and cost. A foreign arbitral award has an easier route under the New York Convention, and an insolvency moratorium can halt any of these.
Timing matters as well. Once a respondent senses a claim, assets may start to move. An Indian court can freeze them on an urgent application, but only on evidence of the assets and of the risk that they will be moved, so diligence done before funding can also support that application later.
An engagement can cover:
An engagement is scoped to the collectability question, and the same work can later be used as evidence in enforcement. If you are weighing an India-related claim, do reach out and I will take a look.