Thursday , March 28 2024

India investigates country’s ‘biggest-ever’ bank fraud

24-06-2022

Bureau Report

NEW DELHI/ KARACHI: Indian investigators said they are probing what they believe could be the country’s biggest-ever lending fraud with 17 banks allegedly cheated out of around $4.4 billion.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said it carried out raids at 12 locations in Mumbai on Wednesday and recovered “incriminating documents”.

The target was Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) and two brothers, Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, who are already in custody and being investigated in several other cases of alleged fraud involving billions of dollars, reports said.

Without naming the firm, the CBI said it believes the company and its executives “cheated a consortium of banks… to the tune of 346.15 billion rupees” ($4.4 billion).

The so-called non-bank lender did so by “siphoning off” large business loans from banks into “shell companies and fictitious entities,” the CBI said in a statement.

The CBI said separate audits found “multiple instances of diversion of funds by the accused for personal benefits and falsification of books of accounts to camouflage and conceal dubious transactions”.

Neither the Wadhawan brothers nor DHFL’s parent company Piramal which acquired the firm following insolvency proceedings last year, have commented.

If confirmed it would surpass the $3 billion case registered against ABG Shipyard in February, India’s biggest fraud to date.

That alleged theft by the Gujarat-based shipbuilder beats the $2 billion fugitive celebrity jeweller Nirav Modi was accused of cheating Indian banks out of in 2018.

Earlier, Pakistan’s uber-famous #PawriHoriHai trend is not going away anytime soon not just because it’s very funny but also as it has been bringing joy to many people during a pandemic.

Dananeer Mobeen, the young Pakistani influencer who, in a satirical video post, inadvertently launched the new meme that has been used across the world now, is busy enjoying the fame her clip brought her. However, at the same time, she has been posting heartfelt messages of gratitude.

The #PawriHoriHai trend’s popularity has now once again been used in India, when the country’s central bank latched on to the Pakistani influencer’s trend and made a marketing gimmick out of it.

Dananeer ‘#PawriHoriHai’ Mobeen speaks about love from fans and friends in video below!

In a post on Twitter, the State Bank of India (SBI) spoke of its apps, offers, and facilities for customers.

“Aise offers ho toh pawwrty toh banti hai (Such offers call for a party),” the SBI wrote.

Earlier, police in India’s largest state launched a new crackdown against late-night parties with a catch as their operation was inspired by Dananeer’s #PawriHoriHai trend.

Prior to that, Pakistani bowler Hasan Ali had recreated the #PawriHoriHai video after the Green Shirts won a three-match Twenty20 International (T20i) series against South Africa earlier this week.

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