Game of cat and mouse has been going on since time immemorial to bring culprits to book. Every now and then we hear of NPA’s of Banks, so called willful defaulters and stashing of ill gotten wealth abroad far from the prying eyes of taxmen.
Whether we succeed in recovery of this wealth depends on the (un)willingness of political leaders, (in)efficiency of our administrators, manipulation of judicial process by the perpetrators of these crimes.
The enormity of what is at stake is sought to be brought about by the author through some glaring examples which are in public knowledge.
Unwillingness to Improve
It is estimated that as on 31st March 2015 NPA’s of our Banks stood at a staggering Rs2.67 Lakh Crores- 5.4% of total loans. Government authorities are aware that there is unwillingness to improve – the warning bells were sounded by RBI Governor Mr Raghuram Rajan while delivering the Dr Verghese Kurien Memorial Lecture at IRMA, Anand in November 2014.
These apprehensions have turned out to be correct as can be seen from table below:
|
Lending Bank |
NPA on 30.09.2015 in Rs Crores |
%age Increase over last year |
Recovery in Rs Crores |
|
Bank of India |
29,894 |
112 |
1,267 |
|
Indian Overseas Bank |
19,424 |
46 |
842 |
|
UCO Bank |
12,227 |
64 |
492 |
|
Bank of Maharashtra |
7,986 |
84 |
346 |
|
United Bank of India |
6,112 |
-8 |
217 |
|
IDBI Bank |
14,758 |
28 |
215 |
|
Source:Banks |
|
|
|
Above clearly shows that the lending agencies are willfully participating in this game of loot of public money. This is evident from the case of Kingfisher.
Kingfisher
The CBI has unearthed that the executive committee of IDBI bank set up to screen the loan application of Mr Mallya gave a favourable report despite company’s ratings as BB which is considered to be 'risky'. As per bank norms, the minimum eligibility required is BBB that stands for Better Business Bureau for any financial institution to even consider a request for a loan.
The executive committee in its loan approval cited the "brand value" and "reputation of borrower". Both of these terms cannot be quantified.
Three years after suspension of license of Kingfisher, bankers led by SBI are finally getting into action to recover their Rs 7,000 crore loan . Bids for the movable assets- primarily vehicles and equipment related to aviation business have been initiated.
Kingfisher House , located close to Mumbai Airport has already been confiscated. Auction of this 17,000 sq feet property is yet to be done.
Delay in above action is difficult to understand. Those who approved such loans are also going around scot free.
Sahara
Rs 36,000 crore is the amount owed by Sahara to their investors. Every now and then one hears of some entity propping up to be the savior of their owner who is lodged in Tihar Jail.
Supreme Court has arranged conference room in the jail with all modern corporate facilities to help Mr Roy arrange this money through sale of property abroad.
We are setting standards of “tolerance” of a different kind.
Bhushan Steel managed restructuring of loan of Rs 30,000 crores ! All this has been happening over the years and it appears the BJP Government has hardly been able to make a difference.
It is hoped that the so called patriots – leaders of all political parties show some willingness to recover such money.
Government need to make a robust system to prevent recurrence of such instance.
