{"id":39318,"date":"2018-03-06T15:58:37","date_gmt":"2018-03-06T10:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/?p=39318"},"modified":"2018-03-06T16:00:39","modified_gmt":"2018-03-06T10:30:39","slug":"govt-needs-much-prevent-bank-frauds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/special-tv-shows\/apn-mudda-show\/govt-needs-much-prevent-bank-frauds\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cGovt needs to do much more to prevent bank frauds\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mudda panellists feel that while the systems are in place, the corrupt know how to breach them; also loan defaulters must be brought to book, dues realised<\/em><\/p>\n

With fracas reigning in parliament for the last two days, it is difficult to believe that elected representatives are looking for real and meaningful solutions to the current economic mess. Will the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill change anything? Under whose regime frauds were bigger, the BJP or the Congress? The BJP leaders try to say that the scams took birth when the Congress was in power.<\/p>\n

APN<\/em>\u2019s popular debate Mudda<\/em>\u2019s anchorperson Himanshu Dixit posed questions to BJP\u2019s Bhaskar Bose, Congress\u2019s Surendra Rajput, economist JD Aggarwal, former IPS officer Shreedhar Pathak, Worker\u2019s Banking Association\u2019s Ashwani Rana and\u00a0APN<\/em>\u00a0consultant Govind Pant Raju.<\/p>\n

Rajput said the BJP only makes allegations. \u201cAgencies are investigating the scams, whether they started before the BJP government or now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bose said this is like the pot calling the kettle black. \u201cThe country is suffering due to NPAs that took birth before 2014. We have only now been able to get some knowledge regarding the different scams, like the Nirav Modi scam. The proposed new bill will help to prevent such scams from happening in the future. \u201c<\/p>\n

Rajput then asked how come Nirav Modi<\/a> was allowed to escape the country.<\/p>\n

Aggarwal said in 1998 banks brought out a defaulters\u2019 list, but no follow-up work was done and it was simply told that the list is confidential.\u00a0\u201cNow due to the NPAs, nearly Rs 56 lakh crore are in bad loans. Officers have been found corrupt, so obviously the common man has to bear the brunt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rana said that the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill will make a difference. \u201cI can\u2019t understand the ruckus in parliament over the bill. There\u2019s a big question mark over those who oppose the bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pathak said if people only want to create a scam, nothing can stop them, there will always be loopholes.<\/p>\n

Raju said that regarding the NPAs, the government has done little; it rather gave a bailout package to the banks. \u201cRecent scams that have been discovered have been on a large scale. In 1998, when the bank defaulters\u2019 list came out, bank employee associations had raised slogans against the offenders, but still the NPAs are on the rise. So the government needs to do a lot more. Even the proposed bill is far less than what is actually required.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rajput pointed out that TDP MPs, not the Congress, have been protesting in parliament. \u201cIf Chidambaram is at fault, the courts are there to see that he does not escape. The Congress has no problem with an FIR against the culprits. These are technical issues and we can\u2019t be judgmental. If Ravi Shanker Prasad has sufficient knowledge regarding Chidambaram\u2019s bungling, he should tell the courts, not the media. The Congress wants Nirav Modi to be brought back into the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aggarwal said these issues concern the common man. Regulatory authorities are there, so how come such scams have been thriving? \u201cSystems are in place, but they have been broken by corrupt officials. In a democracy, the law takes its own course, albeit after a long time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Raju said the economic system is in doldrums, people are fearful of banks, and so MPs should leave personal allegations aside and thrash out a fool-proof formula to finish corruption.<\/p>\n

Rana said people\u2019s faith in banks has been dealt a severe blow.<\/p>\n

Bose said post 2014, banking regulations have been changed; there is an anti-chit fund law, bank fraud laws, and so on. There is a new bill proposal that will prevent the likes of Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya<\/a> from fleeing the country in the future.<\/p>\n

Rajput wanted to know how come for everything the Congress is blamed, whether the issue is about what was happening before 2014, or after that time, whether it is in power or otherwise.<\/p>\n

Compiled by Niti Singh Bhandari<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"