Taking precautionary measures against loan dodgers flying abroad, ministry of finance has compiled a list of 91 defaulters barring them from leaving the country.
According to a report by Bloomberg, India has compiled a list of 91 people it is considering detaining from flying out of the country because of their involvement with companies that have defaulted on loans.The list of people has been collated based on they being directors or owners of Indian companies which have been identified as wilful defaulters, firms which refuse to repay loans despite having the means to do so.
That move followed revelations of what has been dubbed the biggest fraud in India’s banking history, in which two jewellery groups allegedly colluded with Punjab National Bank (PNB) employees to get fraudulent letters of undertaking which helped them raise credit of about $2 billion from overseas branches of Indian banks.
“It is logical that someone accused of an offence is not allowed to leave the country because extradition requires proof of criminal offence and it is difficult to establish this beyond doubt,” Aditya Puri, the chief executive officer of HDFC Bank Ltd., told Bloomberg. “Banks are custodians of public money.”