The Finance Ministry on Tuesday informed the Rajya Sabha that banks have got back more than two-third of amounts defrauded by Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

In a written reply, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the three fugitives have defrauded public sector banks by siphoning off funds through their companies resulting in total loss of ₹22,585.83 crore to the lenders.

“As on March 15, assets worth ₹19,111.20 crore have been attached under the provisions of PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act),” he said. Out of this, assets worth ₹15,113.91 crore has been restituted to the public sector banks. In addition, the minister said assets worth ₹335.06 crore have been confiscated to Government of India.

“As on March 15, 84.61 per cent of the total defrauded funds in these cases have been attached/seized and 66.91 per cent of total loss to the banks has been handed over to banks/confiscated to Government of India,” Chaudhary said. It is pertinent to mention here that as on March 15, the consortium of banks led by SBI has realised ₹7,975.27 crore by sale of assets handed over to them by the Directorate of Enforcement, he added.

Russia-Ukraine war

Replying to another question through written answer, Chaudhary said the government is closely monitoring the global commodity price movements and their impact on the Indian economy. He also said the government is also committed to supporting initiatives for releases from strategic petroleum reserves to mitigate market volatility and calm the rise in crude oil prices.

To a question on whether the government has made any review of the economy consequent upon the breakout of war between Russia and Ukraine, the minister said the geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine has led to global supply disruptions, resulting in a steep increase in global commodity prices, including crude oil, gas, edible oils and fertilisers, among others.

“Government of India is closely monitoring the global price movements and their impact on India’s economy through trade,” he said. He said India‘s GDP in 2021-22 is estimated to grow at 8.9 per cent, which will take the country’s GDP past the most recent pre-pandemic output of 2019-20 to complete the recovery process.

“In addition, the government is also committed to supporting initiatives for releases from Strategic Petroleum Reserves, for mitigating market volatility and calming the rise in crude oil prices,” Chaudhary said.

International oil prices started rising this year and jumped to a 13-year high of $140 per barrel earlier this month as an aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war. Brent was trading at $118.59 per barrel on Tuesday. India relies on overseas purchases to meet about 85 per cent of its oil requirement, making it one of the most vulnerable in Asia to higher oil prices.

comment COMMENT NOW