In 2019, public lenders reported more fraud to cops; this year, pvt lenders outshine

new delhi: Since the beginning of 2019, the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police here has initiated probes into bank frauds worth over Rs 100 crore. Interestingly, while 2019 saw more public sector banks reporting frauds to the EOW, in 2020 so far, private banks have reported more frauds in comparison.

Investigators have said that proper verification is very important and if it is not followed then it leads to frauds and defaults.

The data accessed by Millennium Post revealed that in 2019 about 12 cases of fraud were registered where banks were cheated. This includes nine public sector banks and three private sector banks. "Public sector banks were duped of more than Rs 20 crore whereas approximately Rs 14 crore was cheated of the private sector banks," the data showed. As per the information given by police, 12 people were arrested last year in bank fraud cases.

Joint Commissioner of Police (EOW) OP Mishra said banks have their standard protocols, guidelines for different processes. "There are cases where loans were given on property which was already mortgaged with other banks. Proper physical verification of the property was not carried out which resulted in cheating," he said.

A similar modus operandi was used in a part of the Yes Bank scam, where a posh bungalow at Delhi's Amrita Shergill Marg was found mortgaged and re-mortgaged up to seven times for different loans. However, this case is being probed by the CBI and ED.

This year till August, about six cases were registered (four private banks and two public sector banks). Compared with last year, the amount of money duped of private banks had increased. The data showed that public sector banks were duped of over Rs 12 crore whereas approximately Rs 60 crore was fraudulently taken from private lenders.

In mortgage fraud cases, the accused first avails loan facility against the creation of equitable mortgage of their property. Later, the accused starts defaulting soon after the disbursement of the money. Later, a physical inspection of the mortgaged property by bank officials reveals that the property is often already mortgaged to another institution. "There were also cases where accused cheated banks by giving fake or forged documents," the official said.

Last year, one bank official was arrested after his involvement was found in fraudulent disbursal of loans. A case was registered in 2016 on the complaint of the bank.

"Banks must carry out physical verification and follow Government guidelines. They should do proper verification of their client, their documents before giving loan," the official said.