- After seeing the multiple examples of defaulters fleeing the country, the government has made providing passport details mandatory for taking loans of 50 crore rupees.
- According the the government, this particular move will ensure a swift action in case of fraud and prevent fraudsters from fleeing the country.
- As per the Financial Services Secretary, Rajiv Kumar, for all existing loans of over 50 crore rupees, banks have been asked to collect passport details of borrowers within 45 days.
- Passport details will help banks to take timely action and inform the relevant authorities to prevent fraudsters from fleeing the country.
- Big defaulters like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya and Jatin Mehta have fled the country putting the recovery mechanism in quandary.
- Facing criticism for defaulters fleeing the nation, the Cabinet has approved the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill to impound and sell assets of escapees with a view to quickly recover dues.
- The proposed law will also apply to defaulters who have an outstanding of Rs 100 crore or more and have escaped from the country.
