Ministry To Probe Dotcom Valuations Sources in the finance ministry say that a special wing is being constituted to scrutinize the recent high-value acquisitions of dotcom companies and see whether these deals are genuine. The number of dotcom companies in India has mushroomed over the past few months and their valuation has gone up unrealistically, and even the recent crash on Nasdaq has not caused undue panic in the Indian Internet industry. The high valuations of some Internet sites and their purchase by companies that don't seem to be in a position to recover such amounts has raised doubts about the fairness of such business decisions, he added. Indian markets are now seeing an average of three dotcoms opening up every day, with everyone from housewives to school kids jumping into the fray to launch their Web sites. There could well be many cases of fraudulent activity, as the government is not in a position to check every deal.
Valuations are, however, only one area of possible fraud in the Internet world.
Another thing that has come to the notice of intelligence agencies in the country is non-delivery of consumer goods ordered online. Ministry officials said that complaints had come from both within and outside the country.