38 Bank Frauds Fled The Country In 4 years

According to a recent announcement by the government, thirty-eight names, which were filed under bank fraud cases and investigated by Central Bureau of Investigation, had fled the country in four years, between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2019.

The Enforcement Directorate has also informed the Minister of State that applications for Red Corner Notice against 20 people, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 have been filed with Interpol. Extradition requests have been sent for 14 people to various countries, while applications under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 have been filed against 11 people.

Red Corner Notice has been issued for individuals sought for prosecution. They are issued by the Interpol on request of the National Central Bureau and other authorised agencies.

As per the data available, the list of fugitives includes Vijay Mallya, promoter inoperative Kingfisher Airlines, who fled the country after defrauding a consortium of banks of Rs 9,000 crore. Names of Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Sunny Kalra and Vinay Mittal have already been extradited.

Several policy measures are taken by the government to arrest the business individuals fraudulently obtaining loans and fleeing the country.

“The government has advised Public Sector Banks (PSBs) to obtain a certified copy of the passport of the promoters/directors and other authorised signatories of the companies availing loan facilities of more than Rs 50 crore. Heads of PSBs have been empowered to issue requests of look-out circulars,” said Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur.