Modi government to withhold passports of defaulters with debts over 50 crores
After celebrity diamantaire Nirav Modi fled the country, duping banks majorly the Punjab National Bank of over $2 billion (Rs 12,600 crore), the central government has decided to act.
The Narendra Modi government has compiled a list of defaulters with loan size of over Rs 50 crores. Although officials have withheld from revealing the names of the defaulters, it is believed that the defaulters list runs 91 names.
Banks have also been asked to share details of defaulters, and their passport ids in order to prevent them from escaping the country.
The foreign ministry has been pressed to avoid offenders escaping legal prosecution. The ministry has been shared with a watchlist, containing the passport details of financial offenders.
PSU banks have reported of nearly $210 billion in bad loans (Non performing Assets) and scams. The government spent communicating the advantages of bankruptcy courts since it came to power, but rising NPAs and frauds perpetrated by masterminds like Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi have angered the general public.
Modi is expected to clean-up the malaise of corruption. With the elections in 2019, there is ample pressure on the government to act on such offenders.
