Passport details mandatory for loans of Rs 50cr and above
Passport details mandatory for loans of Rs 50cr and above Passport details of borrowers have been made mandatory for people taking loans of Rs 50 crore and more, in order to ensure a swift action in case of fraud and prevent fraudsters from fleeing the country, said a top official said on Saturday. In case of any fraud, Passport details will help banks to take timely action and inform the relevant authorities to prevent fraudsters from fleeing the country. “Next step on clean and responsible banking. Passport details must for loans above Rs 50 crore. Step to ensure quick response in case of fraud,” Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar tweeted. For all existing loans of over Rs 50 crore, banks have been asked to collect passport details of borrowers within 45 days, he added. Several big defaulters like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya and Jatin Mehta have fled the country putting the recovery mechanism in quandary. Last week, the Cabinet approved the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill after Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi allegedly defrauded state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) of Rs 12,700 crore and left the country and are refusing to cooperate with law enforcement agencies. As part of drive to clean the banking system, the Finance Ministry last week had directed public sector banks (PSBs) to probe all NPA accounts of over Rs 50 crore for possible fraud and accordingly report the cases to CBI. -PTC News
