MeitY has shared the list of loan apps with the respective intermediary (App Store)
New Delhi:
Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad on Tuesday said that the Enforcement Directorate has attached proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 859.15 crore generated by accused persons/entities through illegal loan apps.
In addition, assets worth Rs 289.28 crore have been attached under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.
In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Karad said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has submitted to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) the list of Digital Lending Apps (DLAs) being used by RBI regulated entities.
MeitY has shared the list with the concerned intermediary (App Store) and requested them to ensure that only apps included in the list are hosted on their app stores.
RBI’s digital loan guidelines released in September recommend measures, including due diligence of loan service providers (LSPs), transfer of loans from lender’s bank account to borrower’s bank account without any pass-through/pool or third party account. Includes direct disbursement. Avoid layering.
To a question on how the government is addressing the issues of money laundering through illegal loan apps, Karad said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been tasked with preventing money laundering under the provisions of the PML Act, 2002. ED has started investigation under PMLA. In a number of cases where proceeds of crime have been generated and earned by the accused persons/entities through illegal loan apps.
“In these cases, till date, proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 2,116 crore (approx) have been identified, out of which proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 859.15 crore have been attached/seized/freeze under the provisions of PMLA. Further, Assets Karad said an amount of Rs 289.28 crore has been seized under Section 37A of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.
Over the last year, enforcement agencies found several loan apps that engaged in predatory lending while charging high interest rates and fees. Dozens of suicides have been reported due to harassment of users over repayment of their dues.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
featured video of the day
“Fair To Say No Losers In New Tax Regime”: Deloitte Partner