Bank frauds on the rise under Modi government, alleges Congress

The Congress on Monday alleged that banking frauds have risen under the Modi government and accused it of allowing the fraudsters to either continue functioning in the country or leave.

Citing an Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report, Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh alleged that there have been bank frauds to the tune of 5 trillion rupees.

"The Modi government has weakened the banking system by allowing the fraudsters to either continue functioning in the country or leave the country without making any efforts to recover the fraud amounts. It has also not provided enough capital support to the banks.

"The Congress party urges that the Modi government handles these fraudsters with an iron fist and make sure that the entire amount, that belongs to our nation, be recovered as soon as possible," he reporters.

Vallabh said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) annual report for 2020-21 points out certain alarming statistics and alleged that the failure of the Modi government in controlling infections due to the second wave of COVID-19 is denting a heavy blow again to the economy.

He said, "The March 2021 round of the Reserve Bank's consumer confidence survey (CCS) showed a worsening consumer sentiment on the back of deteriorating sentiments on general economic situation, income and prices."

On bank frauds, he said, the RBI report says the cases and amount has been on a rapid rise since 2014-15.

"In the year 2020-21 alone, the total amount of fraud was Rs 1.38 lakh crore," he said.

The total fraud amount has been increasing since 2014-15 and increased at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 57 per cent up to 2019-20, he said, adding that for the year 2020-21, when loan moratorium was in effect till August 31, 2020 and restructuring initiatives were in effect for until December 31, 2020, the fraud amount for the entire year was still Rs 1,38,422 crore, Vallabh said.

"In the last 3 years, the average fraud amount increased from Rs 10.5 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 21.3 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 18.8 crore in 2020-21. The average fraud amount was Rs 4.2 crore in 2014-15. Hence, the average fraud amount has become 4 to 5 times under Modi 1.0 and Modi 2.0," he alleged.

The Congress leader alleged that the details provided by RBI highlight a glaring reality on both the fraud and the state of the economy and it clearly vindicates the fact that the Modi government is all talk and no action, similar to all its poll promises.

"Why has the government failed to curb the bank frauds in the last 7 years? What is the government doing to recover the amount involved in these bank frauds? How much amount has been collected from these fraudsters who are weakening our banking system," he asked.