Feb 2026
India is increasingly featuring in cross border insolvency and asset tracing work, reflecting both recent legal reform and a noticeable shift in how Indian insolvency professionals approach complex recoveries. Conyers Partner Mark Forte, Head of BVI Litigation & Restructuring, recently had the opportunity to address the Insolvency Law Academy and INSOL during a visit to Delhi.
As Indian businesses and individuals become more deeply integrated into global financial markets, insolvency proceedings increasingly involve offshore assets, foreign creditors, and complex ownership structures spanning multiple jurisdictions.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has been a catalyst for this development. Since its introduction, the IBC has fostered a more creditor friendly and time bound insolvency regime, materially shifting the balance towards creditor led, time sensitive outcomes and encouraging practitioners to adopt a broader, more strategic approach to recovery. Draft amendments to the IBC are also now under debate, with particular focus on the need for more effective cross border insolvency recognition. In parallel, Indian courts and professionals are showing a greater willingness to coordinate with foreign officeholders, share information, and draw on international insolvency tools where appropriate.
A particularly notable trend is the growing focus on asset tracing and recovery involving private guarantors. Indian insolvency practitioners are becoming increasingly alive to the tactics and tools used to identify, trace, and access assets held outside the corporate debtor structure, including those located overseas or held through complex personal and family arrangements. This shift reflects a recognition that meaningful recoveries often depend on looking beyond the immediate balance sheet to the wider asset base supporting corporate obligations.
As expertise deepens, India is positioning itself as an important jurisdiction for cross border insolvency cooperation and enforcement. For international creditors, investigators, and legal advisers, this presents both opportunities and challenges, underscoring the importance of early engagement, local insight, and a coordinated cross border strategy.
It seems clear that India today resembles where Brazil was a decade ago: an increasing appetite to enforce, combined with a desire to familiarise practitioners with available options and to invest early in preliminary measures. This is the hallmark of a maturing market — and one that is likely to attract third party funders as confidence and capability continue to grow.